


Shelter My Heart

by DragonDreads (cjbage)



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Mature Situations, Non-Canon Relationship, Non-Canon Situations, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Xenophilia, mature language, non-dragonborn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:44:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 58,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjbage/pseuds/DragonDreads
Summary: Katel was young when it happened, her leg became twisted and damaged.Aju-Lei came all the way to Skyrim from Black Marsh to find his fortune.On a cold, snowy day just like any other, their lives would intertwine.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Bethesda Softworks owns The Elder Scrolls franchise and Tamriel  
> Any original characters are my own. There is no monetary gain from this work. All I am doing is playing around with the game setting and its characters.  
> Please do not use my original characters in a different story unless permission is asked for and received.

* * *

 

 

Bright, happy laughter rang out over the open meadow where the village children often came to play. “Wait up, Katel, quit running so fast,” Thonrir yelled as he gave chase to the laughing blonde-haired girl that lived in a small house down the road from his. The day her family moved in five years ago was the day he lost his heart. At five years old he hadn’t known that; she was just a girl with braids and missing her two front teeth.

Over those five years, things changed. He noticed her parents didn’t stay in town but left her with a woman who spent more time at the tavern than she did taking care of Katel. When Katel’s parents were home, they were always busy and planning their next adventure to find their fame and glory.

Katel made it to the large tree that was their favorite spot to look out over the small village they called home. Thonrir soon caught up with her and they laid on the cool grass looking up into the sky. White clouds floated overhead, and they talked about what their life would be like.

“A few more years and we can get married. I’ll take care of you, I promise. Better than the old hagraven you have now. We’ll buy a house and have a store where everyone will come from miles around to buy and sell goods to us. We’ll have three kids and they’ll all be happy,” he said to her as he held her hand and smiled at the sky. He turned his head toward her, “You can tend the garden and grow the best vegetables and frost wheat in Skyrim. You’ll never be hungry or lonely again, I promise.”

She smiled at him and imagined everything Thonrir told her.

Time flew by and they realized they would be late returning home. As usual, she ran as fast as she could just in case her parents were there, or if Ingrid had food in the house so she could eat that day. She didn’t see the steel leg trap a careless hunter had put down.

Thonrir heard the scream and saw Katel fall. He ran faster than he ever had. When he saw what happened he threw up before he could stop himself.

“You- you have to be still, Katel or it will get worse,” he said and looked around hoping to see a branch he could use to force the trap open.

“Thonrir… help me,” Katel said weakly then her eyes closed, and she stopped moving.

“Katel? Katel?” he cried. “I’ll be back. I promise.” He ran the rest of the way into the village yelling as loud as he could for someone to come help.

It was Thonrir’s father who released the trap from Katel. It was his mother who used leather strips to slow the loss of blood from the mangled limb. They used cloth and bits of wood to hold the leg as still as they could to keep the girl’s foot from moving until they could get her home.

Thonrir banged on the door over and over calling for Ingrid to open it. There was no answer. He pushed the empty flowerpot over and picked up Katel’s key which she always put there so it wouldn’t get lost and opened the door to the cold house.

His father ran for several of the women to come and help tend the child while Thonrir gathered firewood. The women murmured and whispered among themselves, “no hope… gonna lose it… where’s Ingrid… her parents…”

Finally, his father returned and started a fire in the long-cold hearth. “One of you go to the tavern, that Ingrid woman is probably there. Hopefully, she isn’t too drunk to tend Katel.”

Thonrir watched as his father opened a tiny bottle. He knew it was a healing potion, but it contained only a few drops. It wasn’t nearly enough. He watched as the blood stopped, but the wound didn’t close. The broken bones still jutted completely through the skin.

The woman returned thirty minutes later with another woman who could barely stand, she smelled like stale beer and sour sweat.

Thonrir watched his father give Ingrid a look of disgust then turn to him, “Thonrir, I need you to be brave. Run down to the old woman Hrefran, tell her we need healing and to hurry.”

Thonrir shook like a leaf at the thought of going to that old mage’s house, but it was for Katel so he’d do it. He promised to take care of her, so far he hadn’t done a good job, but he’d make it up to her.

The other women left before Thonrir returned. Only his father and a bleary-eyed, weaving Ingrid remained.

Hrefran frowned and examined the child’s leg. She shook her head. “Not going to heal right. Bone’s too broken. I’ll do the best I can, but the girl’s gonna need good care and herbal remedies to heal. She’ll need rest and plenty of nourishing food.”

“But you’re a mage, can’t you use a spell and heal the girl?” his father asked.

The woman tutted and pushed the man aside as she set the leg as best she could, “I’m not a mage you fool, I’m an apothecary. I make tonics using herbs, not magic.”

Thonrir was grateful Katel didn’t wake up as the old woman worked.

“I don’t know if she’ll make it, but I did what I could. Come by the store and pick up the tonics in two days, I’ll leave the ones I brought with me. Payment is due then,” the woman muttered as she headed for the door. “One tonic a day until she heals, if she survives the next two days.”

 

* * *

 

Ingrid forced a potion down Katel’s throat and dropped the bottle to the floor. “You stupid girl. Now, look what you’ve done. Your parents will not keep paying me after this.” The woman stared with hatred at the child lying so still in the bed; her hair lank from sweat and still wearing the same bloodstained clothes from the day before.

A knock came at the door and the woman put on a fake smile and moved to answer it. She opened it wide enough for her to see out.

“Skyrim courier. I have a letter and package for Katel Winter-Song.”

“I’m her guardian, she’s sleeping just give it to me,” she said, and the courier thrust the items at the woman and left as soon as they were in her hands.

Ingrid lit one of the few candle stubs remaining in the unkempt house and read the letter.

“ _Katel Winter-Song_ _,_

_In the name of Jarl Igmund of Markarth, it is with great regret that we inform you of Jathel and Mikash Winter-Song’s deaths._

_The deceased has bequeathed unto you a measure of inheritance in the amount of 600 gold pieces._

_The Jarl’s court has levied an amount of 50 gold pieces from the sum, as the lawfully and honorably due tax. The remainder has been commended unto the care of a trusted courier for deliverance._

_While all of the Jarl’s court grieves with you on this day, we rejoice in the knowledge that the deceased was in possession of dear family and wealth to communicate unto them._

_May this lawfully bestowed inheritance prove as a reminder of your enduring faith in one another, and of the Jarl’s beneficence accorded unto you all.”_

 

Ingrid tore open the box and found a leather pouch inside. It was heavy and clinked with the sound of coins hitting each other. She opened the pouch and spilled the gold into her hand.

Ingrid left within the hour, taking the pouch of money and everything she had stashed away that she hadn’t drunk away. Money which her parents left to care for the worthless brat. Her idiot parents hadn’t known or cared that the house was only cleaned the day before they arrived home, they always sent a courier ahead of time. Ingrid always made sure there was food in the house, wood for the fire, and the sheets were boiled and hung up to dry. And every time they would tell her how good of a job she was doing and leave her another sack of coins before they left.

Ingrid conned a ride to the neighboring town by saying she needed to pick up special tonics from their apothecary since old Hrefran was out of the ingredients. She watched from the store’s doorway until the farmer’s wagon was out of sight then walked away from town.

Walking was thirsty work, Ingrid thought, and when she reached the next town decided it was time for a mead. One mead became two then three. Within two hours she was no longer careful with hiding the big purse of gold from the prying eyes of others. One pair of eyes, in particular, shone with avarice as the clinking of coins reached his ears.

It was the guard who found the body the next morning. Her throat had been slit. One of the other guards recognized the woman as the drunk from the tavern the night before, but no one knew her. No one cared. They put her on the pyre with the week’s bodies and lit the fire.

Thonrir hadn’t seen Katel for two days, his parents told him that he needed to let her rest. The other villagers hadn’t seen Ingrid in the tavern so they all assumed she was tending to the child, but Thonrir worried about his friend. He knew Ingrid didn’t like Katel.

Just before dawn on the third day since the accident he snuck through the window of his room and hurried down the road to Katel’s house. No smoke rose from the chimney and there was no sound from within.

He gave a timid knock on the door. No one answered, so he knocked again, louder this time. No one answered. He jiggled the door handle, and the door swung open. A putrid smell hit him and he covered his nose before he walked in.

“Katel?” he whispered and approached the corner where her bed was. “Katel are you awake?”

He screamed when he saw her and thought she was dead. Her pale flesh sunken in, the leg no longer red and bloody, but blackened with the wound still gaping open and green pus dripping from it. It was from her leg that the smell was emanating from. He ran from the house screaming for his parents.

 

* * *

 

Old Hrefran took pity on the girl. After the no account Ingrid ran off and left the child to die she stepped in and tended her.

Katel had barely been alive when they had summoned her. It had taken all her herbal knowledge to help the girl survive. It had been several days later one of the women taking turns cleaning the disgusting home handed her a partially burned letter she found. Hrefran read it over and snorted, “Well that explains everything, she took the gold and left.” She let out a sigh as she struggled to stand.

“Help me get her to my place, a pig sty is still cleaner than this house, no matter how much soap we use and scrubbing we do.”

 

* * *

 

“Katel, come outside, it’s a great day and not too cold,” Thonrir said as he stuck his head through the window of Old Hrefran’s house.

“I can’t Thonrir, I’ve got to finish sweeping and dust the ingredient jars,” Katel said as she limped across the floor careful to make sure she got all of the dirt and mud out of every corner before sweeping it toward the door. Her foot dragged across the floor and she stumbled before she caught her balance.

It had been four years since the accident. Four long years of healing and learning how to walk with what remained of her leg. Sometimes her limp wasn’t too bad, other times she needed a crutch to walk because she couldn’t put any weight on it without incredible pain. Today was a good day.

“I doubt if Old Hrefran would mind if you took a break,” he grinned at her and his dark blue eyes twinkled in merriment as he tried to get her to shirk her work.

Katel laughed and shook her head. “No, I have to finish this.”

He sighed in resignation and sat on the outside bench to wait until she finished her chores. Several of the other village children their age called out for him to come and join their game. He shook his head at first, then saw how long Katel would be and he changed his mind.

“Katel? Some of the others want to play a game, I’ll be back before you’re done with your cleaning and we can spend time together, I promise,” he said and waited until she nodded before he took off running and shouting for the others to wait for him.

Katel sat on the bench waiting for Thonrir to return until Hrefran called her in for dinner. He didn’t return that night like he promised.

 

* * *

 

A stone hit her window and Katel jerked awake and wondered what had woke her to begin with. Another plink as a stone hit the thick glass. She lit the candle stub and opened the window a few inches to see Thonrir standing under it.

“Come outside,” he whispered harshly.

Katel shook her head, and he made the come on motion and frowned up at her. His long blonde hair blew in the gentle breeze and the linen of his shirt molded to his muscular frame. She sighed with reluctance and closed the window.

She slipped out the back door and made her way over to where he waited for her under a pine tree growing close to the house.

He leaned forward and kissed her gently, “You know what tomorrow is right?”

“Yes, Thonrir, I know tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday,” she said.

“That’s right and I’ll be of age to marry you like I promised.”

“We can’t get married yet, Thonrir. What are we going to do for money? You work in your father’s mine and I make no money in Hrefran’s store. She lets me stay with her and provided all the tonics for me, she kept me alive. I can’t ask her to pay me.”

He waved a hand to the side, “I’ve got it all figured out. I’ve been saving up gold for the last four years. We’ll have plenty to live on. If we leave now, we can be in Riften and married just after dawn. Then we can move to one of the big cities, like Windhelm. We’ll find good jobs there; well-paying ones.”

“I don’t know, Thonrir. I don’t feel right sneaking away in the middle of the night. Why can’t we leave in a day or two after we tell your family and Hrefran we're leaving to get married?”

“Because they’ll stop us from leaving. They’ll want to go with us to see us married, and they’ll hound us to return here. We’ll be stuck in this small village forever. You’ll be working in that dusty apothecary, and I’ll grow old before my time working the mine day and night.” He kissed her cheek then her lips again, “We deserve our own lives not just following in their footsteps.”

He kept kissing her until she sighed and as usual gave in to what he wanted.

She tried to dress as quiet as she could and after throwing some clothes in a pack she closed the door behind her. Thonrir helped her up on an old nag that belonged to his family and was long past her prime. The horse plodded its way East toward Riften and the Temple of Mara.

 

* * *

 

The coldness seeped into her bones and her leg ached fiercely as the blowing snow partially blinded her. She limped her way up the dirty path of the Gray Quarter in Windhelm toward the Sadri’s Used Goods store where she would try to sell one of the useless and expensive pieces of junk Thonrir had spent some of their hard-earned coin on.

Times were hard, they’ve been hard since they left their home. His savings didn’t last long. Not with him buying fripperies he thought she needed, and she kept saying she didn’t want.

When they made it to Windhelm they barely had enough for rental of a one-room flat in the slums. Not to mention jobs weren’t all that plentiful and none for someone who was lame.

She held the small pouch of coins in her hand, she was sure Sadri had given her much less than the candlesticks had been worth, much less than what Thonrir had paid for them, but she couldn’t argue with him anymore and took his offer. She walked to the markets and purchased two days worth of food and put the rest of the coins into her purse then tucked it in her corset.

 

* * *

 

“Katel, my love, guess what?” Thonrir said as he walked through the door into the tiny flat.

She didn’t turn around but continued to watch the stew so it wouldn’t burn, they couldn’t afford to waste anything. She tried to contain the sigh she felt trying to force its way past her lips.

“What is it, Thonrir?”

“Jarl Ulfric posted an announcement in the square today. It said Skyrim belonged to the Nords and as Nords, it was time we stood up and took it back. He called for all able-bodied men and women to join the rebellion and push the interlopers out. He said since by Nord law when he had challenged the High King to a duel for the crown and won that he had become High King. The Imperials, Bretons, those elves, and beasts need to leave. When he puts the crown on he will once again assure that Skyrim will be for the Nords alone.”

Katel at first paid little attention to what Thonrir said, it wasn’t the first time he had come home spouting the rhetoric about the Jarl and how Skyrim should be only for the Nords. But the more he talked the more she picked up on his fervor and how excited he became. How something didn’t sound quite right in the way he was just telling her about what he had heard. She didn’t notice when she slowed her stirring of the stew or how her hand began to shake.

“He promised that our selfless service to the reclaiming of our country wouldn’t go unnoticed. As High King of Skyrim, he promised to take care of the troops and their families. He promised gold, roofs over our heads, and plenty of food to eat once the other races left and was not taking it all.”

The stirring stopped, and she was deathly afraid of what he would say next.

“He gave everyone who joined the militia free gear, and an advancement on their pay, and promised free training. He promised monthly stipends to our families. He said as soon as he took the throne those who have proven themselves will earn a place as castle guards and their families will live like Highborns.”

Katel let go of the stirring spoon and closed her eyes for a moment before slowly turning toward Thonrir. When she opened her eyes he stood before her in the shabby, ill-fitting uniform of a Stormcloak soldier.

“What have you done now?” she whispered.

“I told you we would have a house, plenty of food, and children. The Jarl promised the war would be over quick, that those Imperial dogs wouldn’t last against good, strong Nords. I’ll be nowhere near where the fighting is since I have to train and by the time I finish the training the war will be over. Then all I have to do is prove I’m a good soldier and do what I’m told. Then we can move out of this slum and into one of the nice houses and have our family. Just like I promised.”

How she hated that word. Promise.

“Go back to the castle and tell them you’ve changed your mind. Tell them your wife needs you here more than to be gallivanting around Skyrim pretending to be a soldier. Return the armor and the money.”

A flush crept over Thonrir’s face. “I can’t. I signed the form. And I spent the money already.”

Katel paled and limped over to the chair. “You spent all of the money he gave you? How could you have done that so quickly?”

Thonrir grinned like a little boy and held out his hand. Laying in his palm was a small silver ring. “I didn’t buy you a wedding ring when we got married, but as soon as I got the coin I hurried to the shop and bought it.”

“Take it back, maybe they’ll give you back the money. I don’t need a ring, Thonrir. I need you here, we need food, we need the ingredients to make the tonics. That’s more important.”

The smile left his face, “I can’t. They said all sales were final because they were closing for a time to get more ores.”

Katel didn’t even have the energy to snort at the lie they told Thonrir. Everyone knew the jeweler’s son owned the local mines, and they had workers to mine the ore and send it to Windhelm. Their store never closed unless the owner was too drunk to open it.

Katel sighed and held out her hand. The grin came back, and he slid the ring on her finger. He kissed her cheek just as a thundering bang came at the door.

“That’ll be the others, it’s time for me to go. Don’t worry, I’ll write often and the Jarl promised we would be back with our families soon.”

“You’re leaving now? But you only signed up a few hours ago,” she said just as another bang on the door sounded.

“I know, my love, but it’s a long walk to the training camp. I’ll be home before you know it.” He kissed her cheek one more time before he hurried to the door and picked up a small pack with a ratty looking bedroll hanging on it, opened the door and turned back for a second to wave at her before he left.


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

 

The letter crinkled in his scaled hand as Aju-Lei read it again. His brother said Skyrim was the land of opportunity if one was willing to work hard enough and brave the snow. The glorious town of Windhelm offered steady work at the docks for the argonians and even gave them living quarters as part of their pay. They didn’t need to buy their food as the fish were plentiful and easy to catch.

Aju-Lei ran a hand over his smooth head and stroked his fingers along the white horns. He touched the small trinket hanging from a ring on his left horn before folding the paper again.

His gaze swept over the endless ocean of water as the ship he was on sailed toward Skyrim. The promises his older brother had made of decent work, a home and Septims for a good living still rang in his mind. A new life away from the Shadowfens beckoned. He answered his egg brother’s call.

 

* * *

 

“Come to Skyrim, he said. A land of opportunity, he said. Good jobs and decent wages, he said. What a crock of shit,” Aju-Lei muttered as he lifted another crate from the hold of a riverboat and hefted it onto the dock.

The owner of the boat and its crew sat around drinking mugs of honey mead while the argonians labored to move everything. A quick glance around and you’d see the only ones working their tails off were the argonians. Even the one chopping and loading firewood to restock the crew’s supplies was an argonian.

“Stop wasting time, lizard, and get back to work. We aren’t paying you to be lazy,” one of the half-drunk crew yelled and the others laughed.

Aju-Lei kept the snarl off his face only by clenching his sharp teeth together. Pay? The damn dock owner paid them eight Septims a day, and they worked non-stop from dawn until dusk every day.

He glanced up when he heard laughter coming from another ship and the shout of, “Here she comes again, boys. Katel One-Leg’s back to hawk her tonics.”

“She’d make more money if she’d be hawking a different type of ware. Not one that came from a bottle. Lift up that skirt of yours, Katel and hawk what you keep hidden under there instead. Hell, we’ll be too busy to even glance at that leg of yours.”

“Tonics to ward off the chill of the open waters. Tonics to soothe a cough. Two Septims each,” Katel said and pretended she hadn’t heard the lewd comments or gestures.

“I’ll give you ten Septims if you’d lift your skirt and bend over,” one sailor called, and many others laughed.

Katel moved further down the dock and repeated her call while ignoring the comments. She nodded at several argonians and sidestepped one very large green one who attempted to block her path.

“Your kind aren’t welcome on the docks, nord. Go sell your witchery somewhere else before you accidentally fall into the water,” the argonian growled at her. She tried not to look at him or incite his anger further. She understood his hate of nords, but she never did anything to him.

“I’ve only got one more call to make then I’ll be on my way.”

He growled and took a step toward her. A female argonian quickly moved in between the two and got the male’s attention as she waved a hand toward Katel to hurry past.

Katel limped as quickly as she could and tried to keep the pained grimace from her face as she headed for the last set of dock landings to try and sell a few bottles of her tonics.

She didn’t hear the female’s call of warning before her basket was torn from her hands and went sailing through the air and into the water.

“I said you aren’t welcome here. Leave,” the large green argonian practically yelled in her face.

Katel tried to hold back her gasp and tears as she turned and stumbled her way toward the door back to the town.

Aju-Lei watched the woman trip on the stairs and pull herself upright using the stone railing and begin to work her way back to the town, her left leg dragging along behind her.

His orange and yellow eyes turned toward the argonian female who yelled at the man for doing what he did. Aju-Lei listened as she said, “Why do you do that? Katel is one of the few nords who treat us fairly, and you do nothing but scare and mistreat her. That basket of tonics was all she had to make Septims with. No one will hire her.”

“She’s just like the others, she puts on an act. She can come and go wherever she wants and we have to live here, we can’t even step foot in their town. She shouldn’t be allowed to set foot on the docks. Let her sell her junk in town.”

The female slapped the male, “You don’t know a damn thing. You don’t listen to the gossip filtering down from the town. She lives in the slums with the Dunmer and even some of them treat her badly. Suvaris told me Katel’s husband died in the war, not even two months after he fell for the Jarl’s promises. She’s been selling everything she had; the basket of tonics was the only thing she had left. The damnable nords won’t buy from her when they can buy from the shop in town. Most of them won’t even speak to her because of the way she screamed and shouted outside of Jarl’s palace when her husband died and she was turned out of her home. How every single promise he made to her husband was a lie, and anyone who joined his uprising should be ashamed and not believe the lies. The Jarl had his guards throw her in jail when she wouldn’t stop. It was only when several more women came forward and said the same thing that she was let go. A misunderstanding the steward said.

She doesn’t even have a dry place to sleep, Suvaris found her huddled in a corner of an alleyway between two barrels with a ratty old blanket draped over them.”

The green male just snarled as he pushed the female away and went back to unloading one of the boats.

The female caught Aju-Lei staring at her and shook her head with a sigh. “Things will never change for the better if people don’t even try.”

Aju-Lei returned to unloading his own boat. His mind whirling with what he had heard.

He remembered when he stepped off the boat and went in search of his brother only to find out he had died two weeks before he arrived. An accident some of them had said. Others said he should have been more careful about whose boat had a crate of goods go missing from it. Aju-Lei blamed the nords for his death, now he wasn’t so sure about anything anymore.

 

* * *

 

Katel leaned against the cold stone of the town wall, the tears freezing to her face and her leg aching so badly she could barely stand it. “What am I to do now? How could he have done that, I wasn’t bothering anyone.”

“Miss, buy a flower?”

A young girl’s voice came from behind her and she turned to see a young girl dressed in barely more than rags holding out a worn basket with a few flowers in it.

“I wish I could young one, but I have no money.”

A crestfallen look entered the child’s eyes as she nodded before turning and making her way back toward the main part of town.

Katel leaned against the wall for a moment longer before moving toward the slums. Her stomach cramped from hunger pangs and she ignored them for as long as she could. Finally, when she made it back to her spot in the alley, she rested against the barrel and rubbed her leg. A few minutes later she ducked under a loose board and began to rummage in the refuse barrel behind the New Gnisis Cornerclub for anything the owner or his assistant might have thrown out which she could eat.

 

* * *

 

It started to snow and she huddled next to one of the braziers to ward off some of the chill. A few of the town’s beggars were there as well and she pulled the threadbare blanket a bit tighter around herself. Not all the beggars were as they seemed to be, some of them were pickpockets and thieves who would murder you if they thought you had two Septims to rub together.

The talk inevitably turned to the ongoing war and how it seemed like it was never going to end. A few said they heard rumors of more Stormcloak deaths and how the young nords kept throwing themselves into the war. Several of the beggars glanced toward Katel and one of the other widows and shook their heads.

“If I could just get some Septims and get out of this town I’d leave in a heartbeat. There’s going to come a time when the Empire is going to send its full force after the rebels, and this town is full of them. Maybe I should head South, it’s warmer there. Or to the West maybe. I heard the land out there is so laden with ore that it’s just laying there for anyone to pick up. And Katel, there are places where I hear herbs and flowers, and all that stuff grows in fields year round. You wouldn’t have to scrounge for the leavings from those High Elves running the shop to make your tonics. You can just walk out your door and pick an armload whenever you want,” one of the older beggars said.

Katel snorted before she sighed. “I’d have to be able to get there first and I doubt I’d make it past the Windhelm bridge. Still, it would be nice to be someplace warmer and where I wouldn’t have to dig in the trash for a bite to eat.”

“You’re still young yet, Katel. Still, plenty of time for you to find someone and marry again. Maybe they’d get you out of here and someplace where you’d actually have a chance,” the other war-widow said as she looked over at Katel.

Katel gripped the blanket and shook her head slowly, “I fell for that once and once was enough. Promises easily made and promises just as easily broken. Pipe dreams. I want nothing to do with them. If I’ve got to live in an alley and eat garbage to survive I’ll do it. I’m never going to listen to anyone’s promises and guarantees ever again, they’re empty and worthless.”

Several of the beggars didn’t meet her eyes but held out their hands toward the meager warmth of the brazier. One of the children rubbed their stomach and quietly complained about being hungry. His mother hushed him and told him they’d go up to the housing area later, once she was sure the guards would be too busy trying to stay warm themselves to look closely at who was lurking in the shadows and going through the trash.

“Times like this I wish I could just do what those argonians do; reach down into the water and call those fish to them. I’ve seen their drying racks, always full of big, fat fish. I bet they never have to dig through leavings to see if a piece of bread wasn’t too moldy to eat,” a man said and rubbed his hands together.

“Maybe we should go to the docks and take some of the fish, they’re poaching them from our waters,” said another man.

Katel looked at them, “Leave the argonians alone. Their children are the ones who fish while the men unload the boats and their women do odd jobs like mending the sails and tanning hides for the sailors. I’ve watched them, and they don’t just stick their hand in the water and pull up a fish. They sit there just like a nord would, with a stick and line, and wait for one of them to bite. If the sailors wouldn’t be so busy getting drunk as soon as the boats dock, and too cheap to bring the goods up here to mend, we could do some of the odd jobs. Instead, it goes to them because of the sailor’s laziness, and the willingness of the argonians to work hard for so little coin.”

One of the men sneered and she turned to him, “Would you work from sun up to sun down unloading heavy crates or loading boats without stopping for eight Septims a day? How much did you make sitting around and begging for coins without actually doing a lick of work today?”

Several people grumbled and the women looked at them then at Katel.

 

* * *

 

Katel shivered as she sat between her two barrels. The men did have a point, the argonians had a lot of fish to eat. Maybe if she found a pole and line she could catch a fish or two and have something other than a handful of things she had to brush rotted vegetables off of to eat.

 

* * *

 

Katel entered Sadri’s Used Goods early the next morning. The dark elf looked up and sighed.

“No, Katel, I don’t want to buy your tonics to keep on hand for my customers,” he said.

“That’s not why I’m here. I’m looking for things to fish with. A fishing pole, good line, a hook, a net with no holes for the fish to escape out of if you have one.”

Sadri stopped tapping a hand on the counter and looked at the woman. She had been coming in here for years now, selling the stuff her husband had squandered their money on. Sadri had made a tidy sum from her alone.

“Well, I do have a pole and things. I paid good money for it though. I planned on taking my sister out fishing when it warms up a bit, she’s been wanting to teach that nord boy, Grimvar Cruel-Sea how to fish; as if the son of a sea captain wouldn’t already know how to fish.”

Katel put her hands on the counter and leaned a bit forward, “How much is it, for all of it?”

Sadri pretended to think, “I suppose I could sell the equipment for ten Septims.”

Katel’s face fell, “Ten?”

“Yes, I don’t get much fishing equipment, I’ll sell you the pole and even throw in the catch basket filled with supplies. It’s a good bargain.”

Katel rubbed her dirty brow and turned away from Sadri. She reached into the bodice of her dress and pulled out her small coin purse. One gold Septim, two silver Septims, and one copper. Nowhere near the ten he wanted.

Her hand shook as she tucked the purse back into her dress and turned around. She held out the silver ring Thonrir gave her. It was all she had left of him. “How about if I sell this and pay for the gear out of the Septims you give me for it.”

Sadri frowned and picked up the ring. He recognized the work as coming from the town jeweler. The same jeweler who several women had already come in to ask if he anything from them for sale.

“Hmm, this is just silver with a tiny garnet. There’s nothing special about it. I don’t know.” He tried not to pay attention to the growling from Katel’s stomach from her hunger.

“I suppose I could trade the ring for the gear. I’ll even be generous and add a knife you can use to scale and clean the fish with. I doubt I’d get anywhere near what I paid for the equipment from the sale of this ring, though.”

Katel tried not to scream to just give her the damn equipment and stop fooling around. She wasn’t an idiot, she knew the ring was worth more than the equipment any day, but she was hungry and had dreamed of fresh fish each time she had drifted off to sleep the night before.

Sadri must have realized he was pushing it and told her to wait and he’d be back with the stuff. He opened his stockroom door and slipped inside, closing the door just enough so she couldn’t see inside. He rooted around through the myriad number of fishing poles and picked one of the cheapest ones out and tossed together a basket of stuff he had stored back there for ages then hurried back out to the store.

“Alright, here you go. A pole, basket, net, a full spool of line, and two hooks. I added a dagger you can use to clean it with, and even a pair of leather gloves so your hands don’t get cut up. A good deal if you ask me.”

He put the worn basket on the counter and pushed it toward her as he picked up the ring. She opened the basket and saw everything was in there and picked it up with a terse thank you before limping out the door.

“No, thank you,” he said as he placed the ring in a display case and put a small price tag that read, ‘Silver and Garnet ring, made by Windhelm Jewel-Smiths, 160 Septims.’

 

* * *

 

Katel hurried as fast as she could to the docks. Once there she moved to the opposite side of the area from where the children and women worked before sliding a slimy worm she had dug out of the compost heap behind the Cornerclub onto the hook and dropped the line in the water. She hoped by the end of the night she’d have caught a fish.

“Katel? I thought it was you. What are you doing?” Shahvee asked.

Katel smiled up at the argonian and pulled her blanket around her shoulders a bit more. “Fishing, or at least trying to, haven’t caught anything yet though,” she said as she rubbed at her damaged leg trying to ease the ache from sitting on the cold stone for so long.

“Ah, the hatchlings say the best time to catch fish is early morning before the ships come in or at dusk when the waters calm and the noise level drops.”

Katel looked back toward the water and frowned, her stomach growled loudly again and she sighed. “I guess I’ll try again tomorrow.” She pulled the line out of the water and saw the worm was gone. “Well darn, the worm’s gone. Maybe that’s why I didn’t catch anything.”

Shahvee laughed and helped Katel to her feet. The argonian distracted her long enough to slip a small hunk of wrapped cheese into the basket before walking with her to the town door.

Neither one saw a pair of orange-yellow eyes watching the women with curiosity.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

 

 

Katel spent two days sitting on a rock near the docks to fish in the early morning and just before it got too dark to see, and still she had caught nothing. She couldn’t understand it. She spotted several of the children holding up long strings of fish to their mothers with happy grins on their faces. Yet she hadn’t even had so much as a nibble.

“Here again?” a male voice said, and she looked up to see a red argonian male staring at her with rather unnerving orange-yellow eyes. The small black vertical slits he had for pupils were barely noticeable in the fading light.

“Yes. I’m not bothering anyone and staying out of the worker's way,” she said as she struggled to bring in the fishing line and stand at the same time.

“I know you’re not. I was just wondering why you come here all the time and not go to the other side of the river or across the bridge and try from there.”

“I take a while to walk anywhere, and by the time I get over there it will be time to just turn around and walk back.”

“Have you caught anything yet?”

She shook her head no as she stuffed the hook and equipment back into the small basket and lifted it.

“What are you using for bait?” he asked and moved out of her way as she took several steps toward the stairs.

“Worms,” she said as she limped toward the stairs leading to the door and the way back into the town.

Aju-Lei took a few steps and matched her pace. “Hmm, that’s what our hatchlings use too, they don’t seem to have the same problems though. Maybe the fish don’t like the taste of the worms you’re using?” He grinned at her and she flinched slightly and tried to walk faster without tripping.

“I’m using ones from a compost pile, worms are worms.” She clutched her basket tighter and started up the stairs.

“Will you be back tomorrow?” he called before she walked through the door.

Shahvee had watched Aju-Lei try to talk to Katel, but the woman rarely talked to the males on the docks, and who could blame her with the way several of them treated her. One of which just slipped inside the Assemblage and dripped water as he headed for the large fireplace to finish drying off.

Shahvee slid Aju-Lei a wooden bowl filled with steaming fish stew, and a trencher of bread, and cheese before she sat on the bench beside him to eat her own food. “I saw you try to talk to Katel. She doesn’t talk much.”

“I noticed. I asked her why she came here every day to fish and not try to go across the bridge or on the other side. I even asked what kind of bait she used.”

“She can’t go very far without stopping and resting. She told me when she was a child some out-of-town hunter put a trap in the meadow where a bunch of kids played and she didn’t see it. It mangled her leg, and she almost died.”

Aju-Lei ate quietly for a few minutes before he asked her about why Katel spent so much time on the docks. “No one in town will hire her because of her leg. She can’t stand for a long time so they don’t want her as a shop assistant. She can’t walk fast so they won’t hire her for deliveries. It’s been that way since she moved here. The husband she had wasn’t worth much. He couldn’t hold a job for longer than a week, spent all their money on things they didn’t need; when what they needed was food and medicine. She would come down here almost every day to sell a tonic or syrup or something. It worked too, so don’t think she’s just trying to con us out of what little money we have.”

Aju-Lei remained quiet the rest of the night. He left the Assemblage just before dawn the next morning before anyone but Scouts-Many-Marshes, who sharpened his axe every morning at 6 AM, and a few of the other men were awake.

Aju-Lei waited for Katel next to the tree and rock she fished from until he saw her working her way down the stairs. “Good morning. I heard fish jumping just a bit ago, maybe you’ll catch something today.”

Katel stumbled to a halt and looked at the red argonian before she mumbled, “Maybe.”

Aju-Lei watched her put a worm on the hook and drop it into the water. “My name is Aju-Lei, have you tried tossing the line out a little further away from the shore?”

“It never seems to make a difference,” she muttered and pulled the threadbare blanket closer about her shoulders.

“Would you like me to send it out further? Maybe that’s why you’re not catching anything.”

“No. Thank you.” Katel took a firmer grip on the pole as if he’d lean down and snatch it from her.

“Okay, well I better get ready for work. I hope you catch something,” he said as he turned and walked away. He barely heard her say goodbye before he was out of hearing range.

Katel nibbled on the shriveled apple she found in a barrel behind the Candlehearth Hall while she kept her eye on the end of the line. She couldn’t understand it. The line had dipped once or twice earlier than nothing for the past few hours. Now it was an hour before dusk and she could hear the children coming out to fish and catching them within a short time of putting out their lines. Why hadn’t she caught anything?

She gave a slight startled jump when she heard the red argonian say, “Still haven’t caught a fish?”

She tried to hide the half-eaten apple under her blanket before he saw it as she shook her head.

Aju-Lei rubbed the top of his head, “Something’s not right. The children are catching fish so fast every day. You should have caught at least one fish.”

Shahvee approached and asked what was going on. She too frowned and voiced her thoughts about it not sounding right. “Come with me, bring your gear and let’s see if this is just a bad area or if something you’re doing is making the fish not like you.”

Aju-Lei reached for her basket and Katel yanked it back toward her. Shahvee told her it was okay, he wasn’t like a few of others.

Aju-Lei carried the basket in the hand closest to Katel so she wouldn’t worry about him destroying it. When they reached the other side of the docks, the children moved over and made room.

“Are you gonna catch fish too?” asked one of the younger children.

Katel nodded, “I will try, they don’t seem to like me much. Or maybe they don’t like the worms I use.”

One of the other children giggled and wiggled her pole around.

Katel put the worm on the hook and dropped it into the water and waited. After several minutes she felt a tug on the line. A few minutes more and a stronger tug.

A child pointed to the end of the pole, “It’s almost ready. When it tugs hard, you need to pull back on the pole to bring it in.”

Katel nodded to the child and thanked him. As soon as the pole tipped down further the child said, “Now!” and Katel yanked the pole upward. A fish flew through the air and landed on the dock. One of the kids pounced on it before it could wriggle back toward the water.

When he stood up and held out the fish to her she smiled and thanked him. “It seems I chose a bad area.”

“I’m not so sure she did,” Aju-Lei whispered to Shahvee as he stripped off his shirt and shoes. “There shouldn’t be that much of a difference. Three days of nothing then suddenly she comes to this side where the kids are and she gets one right away?”

Shahvee said nothing as she watched Aju-Lei enter the water without a splash or sound. She turned back to the sound of a child’s laughter and saw Katel struggling with the salmon.

“Okay, I caught a fish, now what do I do with it?” she asked and a young male laughed harder and shook his feathered head.

“I’ll show you,” he said as he puffed out his chest and reached for the fish.

A different boy reached into the basket and took out the dagger and looked up at her, “Is this what you would use to clean it with?”

She nodded her head. “Yes, the man I bought all of this from said it would work.”

“It would work if it was sharp. This is duller than one of my tail spines,” the boy muttered and walked over to Neetrenaza’s grinding stone to sharpen it. “It’s got to be sharp or it will tear the fish apart and ruin it. You’d lose all the meat and end up with nothing but a mess.”

Katel was watching the young boy and didn’t notice one of the female argonians try to get her attention. When the two of them turned from the grindstone to return to the fish, both the child and Katel stood to watch in horror as the large green argonian picked up her basket and threw it into the water then grabbed her pole from the child who held it and snapped it over his wet knee.

“No,” Katel whispered and took several steps forward. Her eyes were drawn to the pole drifting down the river. “No!” she limped toward the edge of the dock as if she would jump in to grab it when she felt arms go around her and pull her back.

“Don’t. You’ll drown or freeze to death,” Aju-Lei said as he pulled her further away and pushed Katel toward the gathered women and children before turning to confront the other male.

“It was bad enough you were the one keeping her from catching a fish. I saw you. I saw you under the water scaring the fish away from where she sat. I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t catching anything. Now you do this? She has done nothing to you. Why?” Aju-Lei said and the green argonian snarled.

“She’s a nord. That’s enough reason. If she catches a fish, then more of them will come here and just take them. They’ll line the docks and keep us from work and steal what we have.”

“All I wanted was a fish. I would not take anything from you. If others wanted to take the fish or come down here, they would have already. All I wanted was something to eat that I didn’t have to dig out of someone’s refuse pile,” Katel said as she saw the basket give one last burble of escaping air and sink below the surface. She looked over at Shahvee who held her. “What do I do now?”

The green argonian laughed, “You’re a nord. You’re acting like things aren’t easy for you. You’ve got more money than we do, go buy another and find somewhere else to fish.”

Katel turned her blue eyes toward him, “Money? Everything I had is gone. I traded my wedding band for the basket and pole.” She gestured toward the threadbare blanket and the dress she wore. “This is it. No money, no home, no warm fire or a safe place to sleep at night. No food, no work. What little I had you destroyed again. I did nothing to you, I did nothing to any of you.”

She shrugged off Shahvee’s arms and made her slow way to the stairs.

The child carrying the dagger took the fish from one of the other children and hurried over to her. “Here, you forgot these,” he whispered and held out the items.

Katel paused before she looked down at him, “Keep them, you need them more than I do. I have no use for the dagger now and one fish won’t last long. Thank you for showing me how to catch them though.”

The group of argonians watched the lame nord turn the corner and looked back when Aju-Lei said, “Did you ever stop to think acts like that is why the nords won’t let us into the town? You attack a defenseless woman, destroy her things over and over. Do you ever stop to wonder why the guards haven’t taken you to jail, or thrown you off the docks, or just killed you?”

Most of the argonians turned away from the green one in disgust and went inside the Assemblage. Neetrenaza stared at the other argonian for a moment, “I hate the nords just as much as you do, but you went too far. There was no reason to do that. Crates going missing, or a few loose items disappearing from a shipment is one thing. But destroying property is another. We are all lucky she’s said nothing to the guards about what you’ve done to her, or we’d all be suffering for it.”

Katel huddled between her barrels and cried until she had no more tears left in her. The trails froze on her cheeks and she used the corner of her blanket to wipe them away. So this was how it was to end? Alone, starving, and frozen to death in a dirty alley. She should never have listened to Thonrir and left Old Hrefran’s home. She should never have come to Windhelm. Katel reached into her bodice and took out the small pouch. One gold Septim, one silver Septim, and two copper ones. This was her fortune.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

 

 

The snow fell before dawn and Katel shivered uncontrollably as she walked toward the main part of town to stand near a brazier. She had to get warm or she would die.

Three women already huddled around the fire when Katel joined them. One of them had a young child, one-year-old, maybe two; it was hard to tell.

“Katel, this is Mariah. She got the news yesterday. The owner of the apartment she rented didn’t even wait until the courier was out the town gates before throwing her out. Ulfra found her outside the Palace, she was trying to get in to ask when the Jarl would give the promised stipends to her. The guards told her that if she didn’t leave they’d throw her in jail.”

Katel nodded her understanding as she blew on her fingers before she held her hands out toward the fire. “Soon this town will be nothing but widows and orphans huddling around refuse piles and braziers.”

One of the other women agreed with her.

“I’m surprised to see you Katel. You’ve been hurrying down to the docks with your fishing pole every morning about this time.”

Katel pulled the blanket up and covered her hair to keep more heat in before she answered. “No pole. It’s gone, all of it.”

The other women gasped, “Who would steal your gear? There were no new beggars from outside the gates lately.”

Katel didn’t answer; only shrugged.

“What are you going to do now?” one of the other women asked.

That was something which Katel had thought about after she cried and had a small bout of self-pity. “I’m leaving. I’ve no chance here. The Jarl, the nords, the elves, and even the argonians made sure of it. At least out there when I die I might do some good and feed an animal for a day. Here all that will happen is they will pick my body over for my shoes and blanket before it’s either left to rot in the alley or just tossed on a fire. No one will care either way.”

One woman said it wasn’t true; only they all knew it was. When they died no one would care.

“When are you going?” asked Ulfra.

“After the sun’s up more. Once they’ve tossed the remains of the customers morning meals out I’ll take what I can and go. I may even make it to the stables before nightfall,” she gave a chuckle devoid of all humor.

 

* * *

 

Katel found enough scraps of food that if she was careful would last her through the day and maybe even half the next. If she lived through the night.

Several of the widows met her at the town’s gates and one handed her a pair of mismatched woolen mittens and another handed her something which resembled a priest's hood. Another one shoved a small knapsack in her hands.

“Just don’t ask where we got these from, you may not like the answer. Don’t worry… no one will miss them.”

Katel knew better than to ask, she learned after Thonrir left the women did what they had to do to survive. She put the bundle of food into the knapsack, then put the hood and mittens on before hugging each of the women and walking toward the small door in the huge iron gates. The female guard opened the door wide enough for Katel to go through before slamming it shut behind her.

Katel took a deep breath and walked.

 

* * *

 

It was mid-afternoon when the snow tapered off then stopped. Aju-Lei stood and stretched feeling the bones along his spine crack and pop as they realigned themselves.

He heard Shahvee say something and looked over at her. She was standing next to the tanning rack looking at something on the bridge. He moved closer to her and shaded his eyes as he looked in the same direction. “What did you say, Shahvee?”

“I said I thought I saw something strange on the bridge over there. Like a giant bird.”

A large gust of wind came up and something on the bridge flew up and flapped around before settling down again when the wind stopped.

“There did you see it? It’s further away, but it was there again,” she said.

A few more argonians came to see what the two of them were staring and pointing at. When another gust of wind rose up and whatever it was flew up then twisted and flapped around before it dropped.

“Shahvee thinks it’s a bird,” Aju-Lei said.

“Nah, I didn’t see wings. It looks like a banner. Maybe we’re being attacked?” said another argonian.

“Don’t be stupid, if Windhelm was under attack the guards would run to defend the city and they’re just lazing about as usual,” said another.

The wind and curiosity rose again and more wild conjecture flew.

“I don’t know, it looked blue to me,” a child said as they wiggled in front of the adults.

“No, it wasn’t. It was gray,” said a small female child.

“Whatever it is it seems to be moving away from Windhelm and not toward it,” said another female as she tugged a child away from the edge of the dock before he fell in.

“Maybe it’s a group of soldiers going out to fight?”

“No, if that were the case the thing would look like all the other banners hanging around,” a male answered.

A gust of wind blew hard enough that a few of the argonians took a step to maintain their balance.

“Look! Someone’s holding onto one of those rocks sticking up on the bridge and that thing is flapping around behind them. Is it trying to fly away with them?” a child asked as she pointed and jumped up and down.

“Aju-Lei! By the Hist, that’s not a bird!” Shahvee yelled and Aju-Lei took several steps closer.

“What is she doing?” Aju-Lei asked as they watched the woman grip another stone and pull herself along the bridge.

“It’s Katel. I think… I think she’s trying to leave Windhelm,” Shahvee said and gripped Aju-Lei’s arm. “Do something.”

“What do you want me to do? If she decided to leave town then let her,” Aju-Lei said as he continued to watch the slow progress Katel made across the Windhelm bridge.

“At the rate she’s going it’ll be well past midnight before she makes it to end of the bridge,” one of the males said and turned to go back to work.

The day stayed windy and freezing, the snow would fall in bursts from a light scattering to snow so heavy and thick you couldn’t see anything but a sheet of white in front of you. Occasionally Aju-Lei would look up and try to see where Katel was. Several times he saw what could have been her stumbling and grabbing onto the stonework to hold herself upright as she leaned against the wall of the bridge.

Scouts-Many-Marshes came to stand next to Aju-Lei and shook his head. “She will not make it across by nightfall. There’s a bet already going on whether she dies from exposure, a wild beast, or just passes out and gets run down by a carriage on the bridge.”

Aju-Lei stared at Scouts and then back to where the large green argonian laughed as he took the bets. “Is there one where she lives through the night?”

Scouts looked at him, “No. But I think someone may bet not only does she make it across the bridge, but makes it through the night. Especially if there are no details stipulating that she can’t have help.”

“It would feel damn good to take the bastard’s Septims after what he did to her,” Aju-Lei said as he dipped his thumb and forefinger into his pouch and drew out two gold Septims.

“How are you going to help her?” Scouts asked as he continued to look toward the bridge.

“I’ll need you to row the small boat across to the other side and wait for us. As long as no one tries to force details then we should be okay. If they do, make them change their bets to exactly what animal would kill her, or if she dies from frostbite or cold exposure, a traveling wagon or a horse pulled farm cart. They won’t like to get into that kind of detail because they could lose the bet easier.”

“I’ll get Shahvee to make the bet for us. Go stand near the boat and I’ll join you. When she indicates she has placed it, we’ll jump in the boat and row before anyone guesses what we’re up to.”

Shahvee waited until she saw Scouts nearing the rowboat before she stepped out of the shadows and walked over to where they were holding the betting. “I want to place a bet,” she said and when she told them what she wanted to bet on several of the men laughed. They took her gold, and as soon as she moved a few steps back from them she waved at Scouts who jumped into the boat and rowed for all he was worth. They were halfway across the river and could still hear the shouts coming from the docks.

Aju-Lei jumped out of the boat and ran up the incline and around the side of the stables, he didn’t stop until he saw Katel ahead of him. She leaned heavily against the bridge and her shoulders were shaking harder than what just her being cold would cause.

“Katel?”

When she heard her name she weakly raised her head and saw the red argonian staring at her.

“It’s Aju-Lei, I’m a friend of Shahvee’s from the docks. I’m here to help,” he said and took a few more steps toward her.

“I don’t need help, thank you,” she said and her voice cracked. She reached for another one of the stones and in the fading light, he saw her fingertips were raw and bleeding.

“You’re hurt,” he said and moved closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her weight. “Listen, I know many of the men have treated you badly, but not all of us are like that. For instance, right now on the docks, the bastard that’s been causing you the most problems is hopping mad because Shahvee, Scouts-Many-Marshes, and I suckered him into a bet.”

“A bet? About me I take it, and if I will make it out of Windhelm?”

Aju-Lei shook his head, “Not exactly. He took bets on if you’d make it to the stable or if you’d die. The three of us got together and placed one saying that not only were you going to make it, but would live through the night. Idiot took the bet and Scouts and I took off in the rowboat. He didn’t think when Shahvee placed the bet we had already figured out a way to win it.”

“At least I’m good for something,” she croaked.

He looked down at her and shook his head, “You’re good for more than that, but he deserves to be taken down a few pegs. Here’s my plan. I will carry you to the stable and then down the slope to the rowboat. We will go to the docks and for tonight at least, you’ll stay in the Assemblage with me. Dry, warm, and safe. In the morning we’ll collect our winnings and I’ll split it with you. I’ll bring you back across on the boat and you’ll have the coin to help you get wherever you want to go.”

She sagged as her leg gave out from under her and he bent to swing her up into his arms surprised she weighed so little; he carried crates weighing more than she did. She dropped into unconsciousness and continued to shake as he hurried across the rest of the bridge and around the corner of the stable just before sunset. Scouts-Many-Marshes helped them into the boat and he set off for the docks.

Shahvee saw them coming and how pale Katel looked and she opened the door to the Assemblage. Aju-Lei hurried over to the large stone fireplace and sat on the stool Scouts-Many-Marshes shoved into place. He settled Katel in his lap and pulled her blanket around her.

“Shahvee, get her something warm to drink; she’s freezing,” Aju-Lei said and began to gently rub Katel’s arms trying to get some warmth into her.

“Is she dead?” asked one child and his parent hushed him.

Shahvee held out a cup of broth from that night’s soup and Aju-Lei held it to Katel’s lips. Then she knelt down to try washing the caked blood off Katel’s hands and smear one of the few healing ointments they had on her torn fingers.

“Come on, Katel, wake up and get some warm nourishment into you.”

One of the other women brought a blanket and draped it over Katel as her daughter whispered the thing they saw flapping around looked like the blanket Katel had knotted around her neck.

The Assemblage door opened and slammed shut. Several people backed away from where Shahvee, Scouts-Many-Marshes, and Aju-Lei were. The large argonian came forward and tried to grab Katel from Aju-Lei’s arms. “Only argonians are allowed in the Assemblage. Those are the rules, throw her out. Better yet, throw her into the river and be done with it.”

“I’ve just about had it with you,” Aju-Lei growled and tightened his grip on both Katel and the small cup of broth. “There have been humans and elves in here before, we’ve all seen them. They come in for training with some of you, or they come in to trade a few things which they don’t want others to know about. And a few come for other reasons.” His eyes lingered on some of the non-mated people in the crowd before he turned back to the male. “You don’t mind them coming in when you’re bartering goods you’ve helped yourself to off the nord’s ships.”

“Those dryskins are here long enough for business then they leave. Get that nord out of here.”

Aju-Lei snarled and Shahvee stepped forward. “There are two exceptions to that rule as we all know. The first one being if we're married to a non-argonian. Our spouse is free to come and stay with his or her argonian spouse here in the Assemblage. The other exception is for emergencies, then it's up to a vote.”

“Then we vote. I vote she stays,” Aju-Lei said.

“I vote the dryskin goes,” the green one growled.

One by one the argonians gave their votes until only three remained. Scouts-Many-Marshes, Neetrenaza, and the skooma addicted Stands-In-Shallows. Aju-Lei nodded at Scouts-Many-Marshes when he voted she stay. That tied the vote. The last two he wasn’t all that sure about. Neetrenaza was never unclear on how much he disliked the nords. Stands-In-Shallows, when he wasn’t strung out, would only mutter that argonians should think twice about settling in this city, or how the young argonians shouldn’t be so quick to break their backs for the nords.

Stands-In-Shallows stared at them for a moment then said, “When I was ill, Katel gave me a bottle of her tonic and didn’t ask a Septim for it. I never thanked her for her kindness. I vote she stays.”

Katel stirred and Shahvee whispered, “If the vote ends in a tie then she will need to leave; unless one of us claims her as a mate.”

A nasty grin spread over the green argonian’s features and he chuckled.

Katel’s eyes opened and she moaned, “Where am I?”

“Shh, you’re in the Argonian Assemblage on the docks. Drink this broth, you’re nothing but skin and bones. You passed out from exhaustion. When did you last eat?” Aju-Lei said as he held the cup against her lips again and she took a few sips of the rich broth.

“She better enjoy it while she can because as soon as Neetrenaza gives his vote I will be the one to pitch her out into the cold.” The nasty grin got even wider when he saw the way Katel’s eyes widened in fear. “Maybe I can throw her hard enough she lands in the water.”

“Pay no attention to him Katel, just drink this while it’s still warm,” Aju-Lei said and tipped the cup again.

After a few more sips he looked over at the argonian who had yet to cast his vote.

“What say you, Neetrenaza? Does she stay, and for one night enjoy the warm comfort and safety of the Assemblage we have known since we came to Windhelm? Or does she return to the cold and uncertainty which she has only known since she arrived in this town?”

“I don’t know why you’re even bothering to ask, you know what he will vote. Just give me the woman to toss out.”

Aju-Lei’s gaze went from Neetrenaza to the other argonian, “No, we do not know what he will vote.”

Neetrenaza looked between the two males then at the female who still shook and had lips tinged blue from the cold. The dark areas beneath her eyes were pronounced from lack of sleep, lack of food, and stress.

“I vote she stays, but only for tonight,” Neetrenaza said in the quiet of the Assemblage. Several of the gathered argonians gasped and the green male snarled in outrage as he turned toward Neetrenaza.

“The votes are in and she stays the night. In the morning when we collect our winnings from the bet she’ll be on her way,” Aju-Lei said.

“You cheated, the bet’s off,” the other male growled and several other argonians shuffled.

“How did we cheat? The bet placed was that she make it across the bridge and lives through the night. We didn’t make a bet she’d do it without help, and it was a bet you took. You accepted the money for the bet, it’s not our fault you didn’t put stipulations on it or ask for details. You were all quick to bet on a woman’s death and laugh about it.”

Several of the females looked at the males and drew their children closer to them. A few of the men dropped their heads and looked down at the floor, the hide along their necks darkening in shame.

The argonian’s feathered head raised and his thin lips curled into a sneer, “Very well, the bet stands. But she has to live through the night… and you have to sleep sometime.”

Several females gasped and even a few of the men looked up in shock at the implication.

“She’ll live,” Aju-Lei said with a quiet certainty to his voice as he noticed not only Scouts give a small nod, but so did Shahvee and several females. They would help keep watch through the night.  


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

 

 

Aju-Lei slept light during the night. It had taken him a few hours to get Katel to agree to stay with him and sleep in his bedroll. The women gave her several more cups of rich broth and half a loaf of bread which she accepted gratefully. They looked away as she tried her best not to wolf down the day-old hunk, but eat with some decorum. One child carried over another blanket and covered a sleeping Katel with it before going back and climbing into the bed next to her mother.

Several times Aju-Lei woke when he heard a hiss and tightened his grip on the sharp dagger he held in his hand as he drew Katel closer toward him and away from the warmth of the hearth which she gravitated toward in her sleep. One or another of the female argonians would stand or just hiss out a warning when someone would try to approach where Aju-Lei and Katel lay.

When morning came Scouts-Many-Marshes pulled Aju-Lei to the side, away from where Shahvee and another female argonian sat near Katel. They were making sure she ate the entire bowl of leftover stew they placed in front of her along with another chunk of the old bread.

“Here, these are the winnings from our bet. Minus the initial amounts of Shahvee’s and my gold. Several of the males came to me this morning with a warning. They overheard a plan the bastard and his closest cronies had come up with for attacking her behind the stable while she waited for the next transport carriage to arrive. They want their coins back from losing the bet.”

“He won’t give up. Should I go wait with her until the carriage gets here?”

Scouts-Many-Marshes shook his head no. “There’s more. He’s planning on killing you at the first opportunity. He said you made him look like a fool and no one does that to him. You’re not safe here. Your best bet is to go with Katel. Get to the next town or wherever she’s planning to go, split the rest of the money, and go your separate ways. I’ll go with you to the stables, just in case they try to attack. With the two of us there they may think otherwise.”

Aju-Lei’s breath left his lungs in a long drawn out hiss. He opened the small leather pouch and dumped a handful of Septims into his palm. “How much is here? With two of us, transport will be expensive.”

“Fifty gold Septims, a few silvers, and coppers.”

“By the Hist, that only gives us 75 Septims with what I have saved away. I doubt Katel has two Septims to her name.”

Neither one heard Neetrenaza approach them. “I heard what was being planned. I don’t like the nords, but I also don’t like what he’s been doing to the woman, it’s brought danger to all of us here. Listen well. Take this map and head out like you planned. Do not go to the stables, they are already there and waiting for her. Instead, go downstream. Just before the waterfall pull the boat up to the shore on the side closest to Windhelm Keep and get off. Follow the road away from Windhelm and you’ll find a sawmill. It’s called Anga’s Mill. She’ll pay you for every armload of firewood you chop, as will all the other mill owners. You must negotiate for the price, but don’t take less than five Septims per load, it’s what the nords are usually paid from what I’ve heard.

Use the gold you won, and what you get from your work, and buy survival gear from the khajiit caravan traveling the road. I know it will be hard on you and especially the woman, but walk North then turn West at the main intersection. Keep going until you find the intersection I’ve circled on the map and turn South. The road will take you to Whiterun and the surrounding towns. There are plenty of mills, mines, farms, and shops of all kinds there, and unlike here they don’t keep the non-nords separate from themselves. It will be rough, but if you can make it there, you’ll have a better chance at work and lives. Even her.”

Stands-In-Shallows approached them then and held out a dirty and oft-patched knapsack. “I found this outside of town. It’s not much, but you can have it. I scavenged what I could from the remains of her basket I found lodged against a rock at the bottom of the river and put it in this bag for you. The children added fishing line, her old dagger, a whetstone, a few extra hooks, and fixed the torn net. The women added an old flint stone and striking steel, along with a jar of the healing salve, a few scraps of linen, and a small mending kit.”

“You better tell her what’s happening and get moving before he figures out something’s up and comes looking for you,” Neetrenaza said before he turned and walked toward the door of the Assemblage.

While Scouts-Many-Marshes told a terrified and shaking Katel about their plan and the need for it, Aju-Lei shook out his bedroll, added two of the older blankets to the pile and rolled it up tightly before securing it with leather strips. He used several leather laces to attach it to the old knapsack before stuffing the rest of his clothes into the bag. He put on his heaviest shirt and slipped the leather lace holding the money pouch closed around his neck and tucked it between his shirt and chest.

“We need to hurry Katel. I’ll row the boat to the drop off point then you and Aju-Lei will need to move as quickly as you can toward the sawmill. I must be back here and hard at work before they realize you’re gone and just how you left,” Scouts-Many-Marshes said to her as Aju-Lei joined them.

“Why are you helping me?” Katel asked as Shahvee wrapped several hunks of cheese, two loaves of bread, and a few apples in a cloth and put it into Katel’s pack.

“Because we should never have let him do what he did for so long. We should have stopped him from destroying your belongings, not stand there and watch him do it,” Shahvee said and Scouts-Many-Marshes nodded.

“You need not go with me, Aju-Lei.”

The red argonian shrugged, “I was planning on leaving here soon, anyway. With my brother dead and the shit happening on the docks it’s not worth sticking around for. With two of us working together we have a better chance than either of us does alone.”

Katel shakily rose from the bench and tugged the ragged priest hood over her head before shrugging into the knapsack. She tied the blanket firmly around her neck and waist and slipped on the mended mismatched pair of mittens then nodded that she was ready to go.

Shahvee opened the door of the Assemblage and looked around outside, the dock bustled with activity. She didn’t see the green argonian or one of his friends. Scouts-Many-Marshes walked out when she waved at him and started for the small rowboat. When he gave a low whistle Aju-Lei and Katel walked as quickly as they could out the door and down to the end of the dock where Scouts-Many-Marshes waited.

Several minutes later Scouts-Many-Marshes swung the small boat toward the shore and Aju-Lei jumped out and helped Katel.

“Good luck to you both, marsh friend,” Scouts-Many-Marshes said and with a wave put his back into rowing upstream to make it back to the docks as quickly as he could.

“I hope you’re ready for this, Katel. We must move as quickly as we can until we reach the sawmill. I’ll help you, and if you need to stop and rest, just say so.”

She nodded and gripped the arm he held out to her. Several minutes later they reached the top of the path and turned West, almost immediately he could see the sawmill. “There’s the mill, it’s not far at all. We’ll be there soon. You can rest while I chop wood and making us more coin. I’m sure they’ll have a fire going so you can keep warm while you wait.”

 

* * *

 

They took over an hour to make it the short distance. Aju-Lei worried about Katel and if she could make it even as far as the junction let alone all the way to Whiterun. He could only hope once they got the gear they needed, he could get food into her and weight on her and she’d grow stronger. As it was, he worried a strong gust of wind would pick her up and toss her around like a leaf.

When they made it to the mill, he helped her to sit on the bench nearest the fire and asked one worker who to talk to if he wanted to chop firewood for them. The man splitting the logs pointed to the woman scattering food on the ground for some chickens before he went back to loading a log into the water-powered saw.

Aju-Lei hurried over and negotiated a price for the firewood with the woman then dropped his pack next to Katel. “There’s a few extra blankets wrapped inside the bedroll if you get too cold. Maybe when it gets close to the time to eat, you could fish upstream and try to catch us some lunch. The owner said we could use the cooking fire for free.”

Katel nodded and looked around from where she sat to see if she could spot a likely place for her to sit and fish. She spied a rock near the water and far enough upstream the current shouldn’t disturb the fish too much. After she rested, she’d asked the woman if she could get a few worms from her composting pile then make her way over to it.

Aju-Lei rolled up the sleeves of his heavy linen shirt, picked up the axe resting against the wood chopping block and tested the edge. He found it sharp enough he could start right away instead of having to use a whetstone. At five Septims per armload of wood, he could make more in an afternoon doing this than he would in an entire week of working at the docks. More if he didn’t waste too much time.

 

* * *

 

Katel picked up the other pack and limped her way toward where the owner of the mill leaned on a wooden fence post.

“I was hoping I could get a few worms from your pile and try my hand at fishing.”

The older woman looked her over and gave a nod before leading her behind the chicken coop. Katel struggled to stand back up and not drop the handful of worms she had or squeeze them into mush. She leaned against the coop for a moment then shifted the packs to balance herself better before she made her way toward the rock where she wanted to fish from.

She sighed in relief when she made it then groaned when she realized she didn’t have a pole. She looked over to where Aju-Lei was busily chopping up firewood then back to the pack where he told her their fishing supplies were. She put the worms on the rock and dug through the pack to see what they had.

After fastening a hook onto the line and cutting a long length from the spool, she dumped the slowly escaping worms into the small jar; it was the same one she had used for worms before. She put everything back into the pack then put a worm on the hook before wrapping several lengths of the line around her palm and gently swinging it toward the water before sending it out as far as she could.

Twenty minutes later she felt the first tug on the line and she held still until she felt the sharp tug of a fish clamping down on the hook. She pulled the line sharply then pulled it toward the shore while wrapping the line around her hand. She grinned when the fat salmon she caught came out of the water and flopped on the rocky shore.

By the time Aju-Lei stopped for a break she had caught two of the fish and made her way back to the cooking fire.

Aju-Lei brought over a flat piece of wood and one of the other men helped him with a round section of a log she could use as a stool when he saw how badly she limped. “I am almost done Katel. I’ll mark how much wood I cut and get paid for it before I help you clean those. After I rest, I’ll cut more. The caravan isn’t due to pass through until tomorrow, but Anga said we could spread out our bedroll and blankets near the fire tonight and rest. If I can cut double the amount of wood tonight and tomorrow before they come we should be able to afford the camping gear if they have any. At least a tent and another bedroll, maybe a blanket or two. Then we can start on our way before that son of a bitch tries and find us.”

“All right. We need sticks to cook these fish on, and if you wouldn’t mind helping me to gather lavender, mountain flowers, and that handful of Mora mushrooms from the fallen log, I can make these fish taste even better.”

Aju-Lei’s palms stung and burned as the blisters formed from how much wood he cut for the sawmill.

Katel wasn’t kidding when she told him she could make plain fish taste better just by using a few of the flowers growing alongside the road. After he ate he went right back to chopping wood. By the time Anga rang the bell to end the workday for her staff he had cut eight armloads of wood and made 40 Septims. Eight hours had netted him the same amount of money he made in five days on the docks. The pain in his lower back, shoulders, and palms was worth it for that kind of money.

Katel noticed the way Aju-Lei curled his long fingers slightly and hissed whenever he tried to pick something up. She gasped at the condition of his palms and chided him for not taking more breaks. She gently smoothed the salve on his palms and wrapped them with a length of linen wrap she found in the supply pack before handing him the section of wood holding his dinner.

“Just let me rest for a few hours and I’ll cut more. Later, we can put the bedroll down to sleep. I want to be up early and start as soon as I can. I’m not sure when the caravan will come through and we need more Septims as a cushion in case I’m wrong in how much they might charge us for the gear.”

“Let me help. I can cut wood.”

He chuckled softly and shook his head. “If you catch the fish and cook for us, I’ll do the labor. You need to rest as much as possible tonight and in the morning. As soon as we spot the caravan we need to be ready to go.”

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei woke before dawn with an armload of shivering Katel. The fire dwindled and so did the limited warmth it brought to them since they had no way to trap it around them. He eased away and tucked the blankets more securely around her before he added several of the cut pieces of firewood to the smoldering coals which were left in the pit. He sliced off a small section from one of the cheese wedges and a hunk of bread to eat before picking up the axe and running the whetstone along the edge of the blade.

Katel jerked awake at the sound of the axe biting into wood. She scrambled out from under the three blankets and took care of her personal needs before rinsing her hands in the bitterly cold river and drying them with the hem of her dress.

“I already ate so don’t worry about me, Katel,” Aju-Lei said as he lifted another section of wood up onto the block and prepared to split it into manageable pieces. She nodded and fixed her own breakfast of bread and cheese before picking a few of the remaining wild growing flowers and tucking them into her pack to use as seasoning later.

A few hours after sunrise Anga came out of her home and paid for the wood he had cut the night before and what he could do so far that morning. Aju-Lei stopped to eat the lunch Katel fixed as one man called out when he spotted the khajiit caravan approaching. He collected the rest of his earnings and when the merchant wagon came into view; he hailed them.

“If you have the coin, this khajiit has wares,” the merchant said as he climbed from the wagon seat.

Aju-Lei nodded, “I have the coin. Do you have a camping kit?”

The male’s whiskers twitched then he nodded. “This one has two such kits. A large kit that contains everything a traveler would need, and a small two-man set-up which has the bare necessities for those who already have items and just needs a few more to complete his own kit.”

“What’s in the small kit?” Aju-Lei asked and the merchant crossed his arms as his tail swung from side to side.

“The small kit contains two bedrolls, a small cloth tent, two cushions for sitting, and a campfire set up. This one will also include a cooking pot at no extra charge.”

Aju-Lei looked over at Katel who stood close to the fire and held her hands over it to keep warm.

“And the larger one?”

“The large kit contains two bedrolls, a large fur and leather tent with a pelt to lie on the ground to make a nice cushion from the cold Skyrim ground, several thick seating cushions for inside the tent, a campfire set up for outside the tent, and a covered brazier to use for warmth inside. It also comes with a cooking pot, a fish drying rack, a storage container, and a small wooden table with two chairs, a portable alchemy table, a new axe for chopping firewood, a pouch of this one’s special fire starter mix, two lanterns, two jugs of oil, two water skins, and two wood and leather partitions for privacy all neatly and conveniently packed in a portable carry container.”

Aju-Lei blinked as he stared at the merchant before he rubbed at the back of his neck. “How much for the large kit?” He swallowed and prepared himself for an outrageous price he wouldn’t be able to afford.

The khajiit’s eyes flicked toward Katel as she walked toward the chicken coop. She stumbled when her leg gave out on her and fell. Her cry of pain caused Aju-Lei to twist around.

“Katel! I’m coming, hold on,” Aju-Lei ran for her.

Aju-Lei crouched down and picked Katel up and carried her to the bench. “Did you hurt yourself?” he asked as he set her down.

“Only my pride. I’m okay. This stupid leg,” she said and gasped as Aju-Lei raised the hem of her dress up high enough to make sure she wasn’t lying to him. He didn’t see the way the khajiit’s eyes widened at the mangled mess which remained of the woman’s leg.

“Just sit here for a few more minutes until I buy our camping kit then we can start for Whiterun.”

“I need to refill the worm jar. I dropped the blasted thing when I fell.”

He nodded then went back to where the merchant still stood. “Sorry, you were about to tell me the cost of the large kit?”

“Yes, yes. One hundred twenty-five Septims for the large kit, and forty for the small kit. This one will show you how to access the items once purchased and explain the setup.”

Aju-Lei glanced back at where Katel still sat on the bench rubbing her leg and turned back toward the khajiit. “We’ll take the large kit.”

The khajiit nodded but didn’t move until Aju-Lei took out his money pouch and counted out the coins. After he handed the money over, the merchant smiled and the coins disappeared. “Yes, yes, fantastic. Let me show you how to use your new purchase.” The khajiit climbed into the back of his wagon and a moment later hopped back out carrying a black knapsack.

Aju-Lei growled, “What is the meaning of this? You said the large one contained a lot of equipment. That knapsack is smaller than the one we have for our fishing gear.”

“Now, now, this one has to show you how it works. Do not judge the kit by the size of the pack it comes in. Come, follow this one to the open area and let him show you,” the male said and grinned at Aju-Lei.

One of the caravan guards followed a short distance behind them. Several feet away from the road the khajiit stopped and turned to Aju-Lei.

“Here, open the pack and inside you will find two objects, take them out and toss them onto the ground to begin.”

Aju-Lei looked at the pack skeptically then opened it and reached in to draw out what he found inside. A small leather and fur wrapped bundle which fit into the palm of his hand, and a wooden box about the same size as the bundle. Aju-Lei looked them over then dropped them. As soon as the objects landed on the ground, they grew in size. The box became the same size as a regular storage chest and the palm-size bundle of furs grew in thickness and length. Aju-Lei took several steps back from the items and gasped.

“Yes, superb. The bundle of furs is your tent, and the box is the storage container. It also contains all the other items which come with the kit and has plenty of storage room for anything else you may wish to add,” he said, then flipped open the lid of the chest to show Aju-Lei the neatly ordered and labeled contents. The merchant drew out a small journal from the crate and handed it to him.

“This contains the phrases you need to set up the tent, campfire, and other equipment like the fish rack and chairs, and also to have it automatically pack everything back into the trunk and shrink them back down to fit into your pack.” He gestured toward the journal and Aju-Lei opened it up and read the entry labeled 'Tent Setup.' As soon as he said the phrase the bundle of furs vibrated and transformed into a large tent of leather and different colored furs.

“On the coldest of nights you can lower the flap and it will keep out the chill. The brazier inside the tent is for warmth, not cooking, but it will work to heat a kettle of water for washing or warm drinks. This khajiit has a wide assortment of kettles for sale. Buy one before we leave and this one will give you a discount.

The campfire setup will create a flat area surrounded by rocks. Just add firewood and use a pinch of this one’s included fire-starter mix and you’ll have a crackling fire to cook and warm yourselves within no time.

If you are stopping to set up for the night, it is best to only draw out the tent from the knapsack and set it up. Then place the chest inside where you want it that way you can remove the items from it without having to carry the chest inside later, or having to shrink and grow it each time you want to use it. The same with the campfire set up, bring it out of the box and place it where you want it before using the incantation.

You can even set everything up the way you want it inside the tent then shrink it down. When you activate the tent again, everything will be in the same place. Do not let the brazier stay lit, make sure it’s cool so you don’t catch your tent on fire. If you do this, it will be easier for your woman. Less lifting and carrying, yes?”

Aju-Lei’s gaze jerked up from the journal’s entries to the khajiit’s face and over to where Katel sat on the bench trying to see what they were doing.

Aju-Lei nodded, “I’ll take one of those kettles if they aren’t expensive, a small washbasin too if you give me a discount. Also, do you have a decent fishing pole?”

The merchant rubbed his hands together and grinned, “Yes, many fine things to choose from. Come, pack your things and this one will show you his wares.”

Aju-Lei bought a rather beat up looking brass kettle after making sure it didn’t leak and a small metal basin, the merchant tossed in two battered metal cups, a chunk of soap, and a scrap of linen used to wash with. After haggling, Aju-Lei chose a fishing pole to add to the pack. The merchant climbed back on his wagon and waved to them both as he snapped the reins and started the caravan moving toward Windhelm again.

Katel’s eyes grew large in her face when Aju-Lei showed her the enchanted tent and everything which came with it. He spent several minutes getting everything into place on the inside of the tent and hanging up the bunches of lavender and wildflowers on a pole running the length of the inside to dry before he checked the rest of the chest’s contents. When he was satisfied everything was in order, he put their belongings into it. He used the book to cast the enchantment to shrink the tent down and then to expand it before he felt sure he knew the words by heart. He used the incantation to shrink the campfire kit down into a bundle of small sticks and dropped it into the chest. After closing and locking the lid he shrank the tent down and placed the palm-size bundle of fur and leather into the knapsack.

“How much money do we have left?”

“About forty Septims. According to the map, there’s an Inn right before we get to the junction to turn South. Anga told me the Inns will also pay to have firewood cut. We have the means to stay warm, catch fish, cook, and stay relatively safe while sleeping. There isn’t a hurry to get anywhere so we can take our time. If you want to stop and rest, then we will. If you want to stop for the rest of the day to relax then we do. If you want to stop and pick flowers, just say so.” He grinned at her and she smiled back, for the first time in years feeling she may do more than just survive another day.

 

* * *

 

They walked for an hour before she sat on a rock to rest as he picked the flowers she pointed to and put them into her knapsack. When she was ready, they started again. When she stumbled after another few hours she leaned against him more heavily and murmured an apology but requested they stop for a while.

The sawmill was still in sight but he nodded and after making sure she could stand for a few minutes on her own; he pulled out the tent and set it up. He put one of the wooden chairs out near the water and she sat down. He handed her the fishing supply pack so she could catch their dinner while he got the campfire going. After a few minutes, she heard him cussing, then a scuffling noise and tried to stand up to see what was happening. When Aju-Lei appeared from around the opposite side of a large rock he was dragging the remains of a mudcrab along the shore toward her.

“Found this bastard hiding next to a rock. It’s a good thing I didn’t set up your chair there. But those claws will make a nice addition to the fish you catch. I thought I recognized some wild onions near the road, will you be all right here for a few minutes?”

She nodded and sat back down after tossing her line back into the water.

Aju-Lei sat on the other chair next to where Katel still fished and sharpened the head of the axe. The cooking pot boiled behind them with a mix of onions, wild carrots, and two rather large claws from the mudcrab. Several sticks held skewered fish, and the kettle had warm water and crushed mountain flower petals mixed in to make a floral tea.

“There are several farms on the road toward Whiterun, I was thinking we can stop at them and see if they have work. Maybe we can trade a few hours of labor for some vegetables or meat, possibly bread or at least flour.”

“That sounds fair. I want to keep an eye out for a nice smooth, flat rock about a half an inch thick. It will make a good cooking stone.”

He gave a soft grunt and got up to place the now sharpened axe into the storage crate and stir the bubbling mixture.

That night Katel took her first hot water wash in months. After setting up the two privacy screens she lowered the tent flap and stripped her dirty clothes off and washed several times until she felt at least somewhat clean. She put the shirt Aju-Lei had handed to her on then took her clothes outside to air. Aju-Lei took a quick wash and put away the privacy screens before opening the tent flap.

As Katel settled into her own bedroll, he looked around the perimeter of the campsite for any more mudcrabs before ducking into the tent and adding another piece of firewood to the brazier.

“Thank you, Aju-Lei, for everything you’re doing.”

“No need to thank me, Katel. We both needed to get out of the piss hole that was Windhelm. We’ll just keep doing our best to move forward and help each other. We’ll be okay.”

She waited for those dreaded words, ‘I promise’ but they never came. A soft snore sounded and she closed her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

 

 

The distance which would have taken most people more than a day to traverse took the couple three. Aju-Lei hadn’t become upset at their plodding pace and never yelled or grew impatient with her when her leg began to hurt so badly they had to stop after less than three hours of travel. He just set up their tent and placed her chair near the water after checking for mudcrabs and slaughterfish then readied their camp.

He tucked one of the extra blankets over her legs and added a wrapped heated stone by her feet before he searched the area for anything he could harvest. By the time he returned she would have a fish, sometimes two, caught, cleaned, and ready to cook over the fire.

Aju-Lei noticed an improvement in her coloring and how she had filled out as she had regular meals. They weren’t much more than a fish, and if they were lucky enough to find wild harvest vegetables, they would turn it into a hearty stew, but it was more than she had to eat for a long time and it showed.

It was almost midday when they reached the Nightgate Inn. Aju-Lei quickly set up their tent and campfire near a small lake then hurried to the Inn to negotiate for his labor. He returned with a small sack of salt, a round loaf of bread, a quarter of a cheese wheel, and four apples.

“They took my offer of five Septims per armload of wood. The wood block is within sight of the tent. After a quick meal, I’ll cut the wood and be back for dinner later. They said local farmers usually bring fresh vegetables every few days so we may luck out and be able to buy some in a day or two. I’ll make us plenty of coin, and the innkeeper will buy some dried fish from us. I’ll set up the rack near the fire for you before I go.”

She smiled at the thought of helping him to earn Septims. “When you go back can you check to see if they have apothecary bottles, a small jar of honey, elderflowers, yarrow flowers, and mint leaves?”

He looked at her for a moment then repeated what she asked for.

“Yes, it’s for my cough tonic. The temperature is falling and if it gets much colder my tonic will help keep our throats from getting sore and stop any coughs, we might get. I need little, just a bottle or two and one bunch of each of those herbs. A jar of honey about the same size as our worm jar would be great.”

He nodded and made sure she had everything close at hand before jogging back over to the chopping block.

He sat in their tent drinking a tea mixture that Katel brewed while he watched her use the alchemy set up to make the cough tonic.

“Where did you learn to do that? Shahvee said your mixtures worked well, unlike what some people tried to peddle on the docks.”

Katel glanced back over her shoulder at him and smiled wistfully, “After the incident which lamed me, and the subsequent abandonment of my caretaker, the village healer took me in. When I survived and healed I worked for her in exchange for a roof over my head and food in my stomach. She showed me how to make a few mixtures. This one for coughs, a thick syrup for sore throats, one to bring down fevers, and another to relieve pain. And, of course, the one I needed to continue to heal. She showed me how to mix up a few salves too. The villagers thought she was a mage because her concoctions worked while the bottles of stuff they bought from traveling peddlers didn’t. What they didn’t seem to understand was those bottles were ninety percent cheap whiskey, five percent water, and the rest gods only know what,” she chuckled and shook her head.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up in Windhelm?” he asked as he poured another cup of the hot brew and dripped a tiny amount of honey into the cup.

She put the cork into the filled bottle and whacked it with the flat of her hand a few times to make sure it stuck in tight before she turned toward him.

She snorted, “Old story which has been repeated through the ages. Fall in love, get married and live happily ever after. I married my childhood sweetheart and followed him to Windhelm where he promised we would have a good life, a big house, plenty of food, and children. I should have known better, he was always flighty and a bit irresponsible. Even more so when we got there. What about you? How did you end up in Windhelm?”

He leaned back on his elbow and stretched his legs out toward the tent flap. “I come from the Shadowfens in Black Marsh. My brother wrote letters telling me how Skyrim was the land of opportunity for us, and how Windhelm gave the argonian people work on their docks, blah blah blah. I sold my belongings and caught the next boat North. He died weeks before I made it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Aju-Lei,” she whispered as she cleaned up the work area.

He shrugged, “From everything I heard it was his own fault. He was stupid and got careless. The guards caught him stealing from a shipowner. I admit I blamed the nords at first, then after I learned more, and saw how some argonians there acted I got to thinking maybe it wasn’t all their fault after all.”

Aju-Lei stretched and yawned before he stood and left the tent to give Katel time to get ready for sleep. He kept thinking even though all they owned was the camping kit and the clothes on their backs they were doing pretty well for themselves.

After picking up small chunks of wood he cut for the brazier, he went back inside. He put one on the small fire and fixed the metal covering on it, took off his shoes and stretched out beside Katel. Yes, pretty well indeed.

 

* * *

 

Two days later Aju-Lei called out to Katel that the farmers were setting up a small market area and to hurry before all the good things were gone. She put several of the bottles of tonic into her pack and picked up a few bundles of dried fish then moved as quickly as she could toward him. She surprised herself with how much stronger she felt lately, and how much easier it was to move.

They traded the tonics and fish for a handled basket, several braids of garlic, a few bundles each of thyme, frost mirram, elves ear herbs, a large jar of honey with the comb, and several sacks of flour. Aju-Lei purchased enough potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbages, and apples to fill large woven baskets. The dairy farmer agreed to bring the cheese wheels, and tins of salted butter they purchased over to their tent before he left to return home. Katel became excited when Aju-Lei purchased several hares and two pheasants to give them something other than fish to eat.

Katel put their purchased food away while Aju-Lei hung the herbs, hares, and pheasants along the pole. “Even after purchasing everything this morning we still have a few hundred Septims. Those tonics and the dried fish you had to trade really helped us out, Katel.”

She smiled up at him and he blinked at how radiant and healthy she looked. She hardly stumbled at all as they looked through the small farmer’s market and he smiled back.

They left two days later after stocking up on dried fish and a few more loaves of bread. The Innkeeper warned them the road between the Inn and Whiterun had no rivers or lakes nearby to catch fish in.

They had only been walking for two hours when the snow which began in the morning turned into a blizzard. Aju-Lei wrapped an arm around Katel and held onto her as he tried to spot a place they could set up the tent without worrying about it blowing away. He shouted near her ear that he saw what could be a cave over to their right and they stumbled toward the darkened opening.

They finally made it to the cave and Katel leaned heavily against him and breathed harshly. She shook like a leaf and tried to muffle a moan and hide the fact she had dragged her leg again.

Once inside the opening, he whispered for her to not make a sound. She glanced up at him and saw the way he stared further in. She looked toward the area and saw the flickering light of a fire. He bent slightly, put an arm behind her knees, and picked her up to carry her behind a rock jutting out to the side.

“Stay here and be quiet. I’ll go see who else is here, and if they’re friendly or not,” he whispered and handed her one of the sharpened daggers before shrugging out of the black knapsack and handing it to her.

“Be careful, Aju-Lei,” she whispered to him and gripped his forearm as he turned to go. With no real though he leaned toward her and nuzzled her cheek before he stood up and made his way further into the cave.

Aju-Lei was no warrior, he wasn’t a Shadowscale either, so did not understand how to slink in shadows to spy and sneak up on foes. But what he knew how to do was to blend into the surrounding terrain. To survive in the marshes of Shadowfen, one had to understand the terrain, know how to spot sinkholes where one wrong step would suck you in and under; never to be seen again. Or where the seemingly calm waters hid the crocodiles. Or where the giant wasps and snakes liked to call home and be able to avoid those areas. Now he studied the area around him and moved with the flicker of light from a boulder to a rock pillar to an overhang. He glimpsed no movement other than the shadows from the flames, heard no sound; not even from the crackling of the fire.

He peeked into the room where the light came from and saw… a brazier along one wall which caused the light and two dead bodies. A long-dead campfire with a cooking spit set up in the center of the room and surrounded by several crates and a barrel. He eased his way into the room and checked the bodies then the fire pit before going back to get Katel.

He found her exactly where he left her. She clutched the dagger in both hands and shook, whether from the freezing cold temperature or from being scared he wasn’t sure; probably a combination of both.

“Katel, the next room is empty. It looks like bandits had been using it but someone had come through a day or so ago and… well, there are two dead men who were stripped of their armors and weapons. But it’s clear and there’s even a campfire area already set up. Come on, let’s get away from the entrance and wait out the storm.”

Katel leaned against the barrel and tried not to pay much attention as Aju-Lei gripped one body under its arms and dragged it out to the other area before coming back in for the other one. While he set up the tent she opened the lid of the barrel to see what was inside. Whoever killed the men picked the containers clean, all they left were two gourds, several strips of leather, one usable plate, and an empty flour sack.

“Anything in there?” Aju-Lei asked and Katel shook her head no. “Well, we can use the crates at least.”

He checked them over for insects or damage before cleaning them out better. He filled them with the firewood from their storage chest and put the crates in a corner of their tent. Katel kept the fire in the cooking pit small because they didn’t know how long the storm outside would rage and didn’t want to use up all their firewood.

Katel watched Aju-Lei cut into the gourds. He tossed the tops away and kept cutting until only the bottom third remained whole before digging the flesh from inside.

“What are you doing?” Katel finally asked as she watched him toss the fleshy pieces into the cooking pot along with some potatoes.

“It will make a decent soup. But the gourds? Well, most people see argonians as primitive because we don’t live the same way they do. We don’t build great big houses, and chop down trees just to clear out an area, only to plant different trees and flowers and call it a garden. We live off the land, mostly. We build huts made of mud, straw, and wood. We learn to use everything around us and not to waste things. Take this gourd for instance. What would you have done with it?”

She shrugged. “Nothing much, scrape out the inside and toss the rind on a compost pile.”

He grinned at her. “That’s what I thought. But gourds have many more uses. My people use them for decoration or for storing items in. Some gourds when dry and properly preserved hold water like a leather waterskin would, but without all the extra work that has to go into making it waterproof.” He held out the bottom of the gourd to her. “These gourds happen to make excellent bowls when they are clean and dry. Where your people would use wood or clay and do this whole damn process to create one soup bowl, we use the bottom of a gourd we cut up to make soup with.”

Katel laughed.

 

* * *

 

The blizzard lasted two days and just as the sun cleared the horizon on the third, Aju-Lei and Katel stepped from the cave and made their way back to the snow-covered road.

The knee-deep snow hindered their speed and movement. When Aju-Lei noticed the trouble Katel had a short time later he called a halt. “We’re at the crossroads, Katel. We can stop now.”

She panted and grimaced in pain before looking at him. “It’s not even mid-morning, Aju-Lei. I’m sorry for holding us back.”

“Nonsense, Katel,” he said as he held her up with one arm firmly wrapped around her waist and maneuvered them off to the side near a large outcropping of boulders.

“Just give me a moment to get our tent up,” he said and shrugged out of the knapsack.

She put a mitten covered hand on his arm. “No, not the tent. Just give me a few minutes then we can start again.”

He stared at her and gave a disgruntled sigh before wrapping her more firmly in his arms and tugging the blankets closer about them. He wished he could help stave off her chills, but since he wasn’t a warm-blood all he could do was layer blankets and hold her. Thirty minutes later she said she was ready to go, and he helped her back to the road.

By mid-afternoon, when they stopped to rest for part of the day, they both noticed the weather had warmed up and the snow melted. They stopped and gathered wild herbs and flowers then several patches of mushrooms before walking again. After another two hours, they stopped and Aju-Lei pointed out the changes in scenery.

“Look Katel, not much snow that way and there’s more grass. We must be getting closer to the Whiterun Hold now.”

They moved off the road when a group of Imperial soldiers came through. Neither one wanted any trouble so didn’t argue that there had been plenty of room to pass by without forcing them off and into the slush next to the road.

“Ugh, wet shoes will make us ill,” he said as he lifted one of his legs and tried to shake the worse of the dirty slush from his boot. He smiled slightly when she snorted.

They laid out their wet shoes inside the tent next to the brazier after Aju-Lei changed into his only other pair of pants. She slipped into his last clean shirt and tied a blanket around her to cover her legs.

He tended the campfire while she sat on one of the giant, colorful khajiit cushions inside the tent and went through the bundles of now dried herbs. She sorted them then placed the ingredients into small cloth bags she made from the old flour sack.

Aju-Lei’s head jerked up when he heard someone call out to the tent as they approached. His hand went to the dagger he wore at his waist and he told Katel to move away from the tent flap and arm herself.

“Ho there friend, I mean no harm. I’m a hunter by trade. I only want to offer my goods. I have hares, pheasant, dried fish, and salted venison.”

Aju-Lei’s eyes moved over the man and saw the sword hanging at his side and the bow slung across his back. The horse he rode was laden with leather-wrapped packs and the saddlebags bulged with their contents.

Katel took a few steps closer to the tent’s opening. “Aju-Lei, maybe we could trade for a few hares or a small piece of venison? It would be a nice change from the fish.”

Aju-Lei didn’t take his eyes off of the hunter but swung his thick, heavy tail in acknowledgment. “How much for the venison?”

“Four Septims for each good size piece. Enough for several meals,” the hunter said and slowly swung his leg over the side of the horse. He kept his hands clear of his weapons as he unlaced one of the saddlebags and lifted out a large wrapped parcel.

Katel shuffled outside the tent and limped closer to Aju-Lei. The hunter unwrapped the piece of scrap cloth from the hunk of meat and showed them he properly salted it, and wasn't rotten.

“Alright, we’ll buy this piece and if you have any snare traps for sale, I’ll buy one of those if it’s reasonably priced.”

The hunter wrapped the meat and handed it to Katel then dug into a leather sack hanging from the saddle and withdrew a long, thin wire with a noose-shaped end wrapped around two small pieces of wood. “I only use traps for small game; hares and foxes and the like. It will break with anything larger. I can sell it for a Septim, but I can only spare this one.”

Aju-Lei nodded and dug into the small pouch tucked under his belt for the five Septims to pay the hunter. Aju-Lei still didn’t take his eyes from the man until he had mounted up and ridden North.

Aju-Lei sighed and dragged Katel closer to him in the hour before dawn. She snuggled against him and drifted back to sleep as he tucked the blankets closer around them. The sound of rain hitting the tent told him they would spend the day right where they were.


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

 

 

Katel came awake slowly as the sound of birds calling in the predawn intruded on her sleep. Aju-Lei chuckled as she buried her head in the crook of his neck and groaned about it being too early.

“It looks like it will be a fine day for traveling after all the rain from yesterday.”

Katel laughed as Aju-Lei jumped over a puddle then reached back to lift her by the waist and swing her over to stand next to him. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped one of her arms around his bicep as they walked again. It seemed natural when he linked their fingers together.

The day grew warmer than any they had felt while living in Windhelm. When they stopped for a quick lunch, he rolled the blankets they usually had wrapped around them into a bundle and used the leather strips they found in the cave to tie it to the knapsack.

The road became busier with farm carts and soldiers throughout the day.  Transport carriages taking people between major holds and several people on horseback passed them on the road. Most looked like typical adventurers decked out in armor, sometimes mismatched sets, while others looked like pilgrims on their way to a different hold. Several heavily laden wagons trundled past loaded with household goods.

“People fleeing the war from the look of it. Women and children or the elderly,” Aju-Lei said as they moved off the road at one point when two such wagons, each heading in the opposite direction, got stuck when the items hanging from the sides got tangled together.

They were in no hurry to get to Whiterun so took their time walking and exploring. Due to the better-growing conditions, the landscape held an abundance of flowers, herbs, mushrooms, and wild harvest items so they spent a good portion of their time picking and bundling them together to dry later. They also saw wolves and sabrecats only short distances from the road so they had to find ways around them. The ground was often rocky and uneven and many times Katel would stumble and almost fall, Aju-Lei’s hand would tighten on her waist or shoulder to steady her.

Several days later they stopped and set up camp for a longer than normal rest. Katel’s leg hurt and Aju-Lei decided a few days of not walking would do it some good.

Aju-Lei positioned their tent and campfire partially hidden behind large boulders and far enough away from a small thicket of trees he could set up the snare in the hopes of fresh meat for dinner. The trees provided necessary firewood from the fallen logs and even several handfuls of tasty mushrooms. He surprised her with two pine-thrush eggs for breakfast on their second morning there.

They finished their dinner a short time earlier and Aju-Lei lounged on his giant green and blue cushion watching Katel carefully separating floral petals into the makeshift pouches when he heard a small shuffling noise outside. Whoever or whatever was trying to approach them quietly, but the scuff of a boot coming from the grassy area onto the more rocky part of the ground where they had set up their tent was just loud enough to alert him. You didn’t learn to survive the dangers of Shadowfen without constantly listening for the slither of scales or the hum of insect wings nearby.

He sat up straight and reached for the dagger on his side before hissing, “Arm yourself. Stay inside the tent unless I say otherwise.”

Aju-Lei didn’t bother to slip his shoes back on but ducked out of the tent and moved off to the side.

“Who approaches? It is common courtesy to call out before entering one’s camp,” he said. The firelight shone off the sharp edge of his dagger.

The man who had been attempting to creep up on them stepped further into the light. He wore dirty, ragged armor made of various animal skins and leather strips. His hair mangy and matted, his body unwashed. Even if Aju-Lei hadn’t heard the man approach, the stale odor of sweat and metallic scent of old blood would have given him away.

“I meant ya no harm, just wanted to get closer to the nice fire you got going to ward off the chill, and maybe see if there was more stew left in that pot there,” the man said and took another step forward.

“Hold right there, come no further. You need to turn around and leave, there is nothing here for you. The pot is empty, but for water, and I have no coins to spare if that would be the next thing you ask.”

Aju-Lei tried not to flinch or look away from the man when he heard Katel inside the tent behind him let out a groan as she tried to stand. He didn’t like the way the man’s beady eyes flicked from him to the tent opening when her shadow must have moved in the light from their lanterns.

“Well now, I don’t mean to be of any trouble,” the dirty man smiled and took several steps back away from the light.

Aju-Lei didn’t move, but he had the same feeling he used to get when one of the giant snakes or worse… the large, lightning-breathing wamasu which roamed the marshes were biding their time to pounce on him if he had so much as twitched at the wrong moment, or took one step too close to their territory.

Katel poked her head out from the tent flap, “What’s going on Aju-Lei?” she hissed.

“Get back inside. He may still lurk around,” Aju-Lei whispered, and he took his eyes off the surroundings for only a few seconds to look at her, but it was long enough for the man to leap out at him from the shadows and strike him on the head.

Katel screamed and Aju-Lei fell to the ground. The man turned to look at her with a leer on his face. The firelight showed his rotten teeth and unwashed appearance.

“Well, what do we have here?” the man said as he took a few steps toward the tent flap, “I thought the lizard was hiding something, turns out he had something inside this tent worth more than a pot of stew or a handful of coins.”

Katel stumbled as she backed away and tried to tie the tent flap shut. He tore it from her hands as the man entered the tent, “You’ll fetch a nice price at the slave market once I’ve had my fill of you.”

Katel shook her head no, her face going pale and her stomach clenching at the thought of what this man had planned. She had been lucky enough in Windhelm when the cell block they had thrown her into was mostly vacant. The guards knew her husband had fought and died for their Jarl and Skyrim, they also heard the rumors of her being thrown in there to shut her up; to keep her from telling of the promises which were being given and broken by the Jarl and his war leader. They kept her as safe as they could until the Jarl released her since her imprisonment was a “clerical error” on their part.

The women watched out for each other in the town; they made sure all the others knew when someone new had come to town and when to go into hiding. A few of the more trusted males also helped them to stay safe by sharing information and guarding them when they needed to remain hidden together.

Now when she had felt the safest and happiest she had in a long while, now someone had come along and hurt or possibly killed the one man who had shown he knew the real way to take care of someone. Make sure they had food, shelter, warmth, and medicine. Not bric-à-brac, expensive fripperies, and things which had no use in keeping them healthy and safe. The despicable man in front of her had taken Aju-Lei away from her, and now he would hurt and sell her, or maybe kill her outright when he saw she could not work a slaver’s landholdings, or do the menial tasks they were too lazy to do themselves. That was if she survived what he was planning on doing to her inside the tent.

“Stay away from me,” she whispered brokenly and the man just laughed as he advanced on her.

He didn’t get over two steps before a red hand grabbed a huge hank of his greasy hair and yanked; the man stumbled and yelled as  Aju-Lei pulled him out of the tent.

Katel winced as the sound of grunts and flesh meeting flesh sounded outside the tent interspersed with loud hissing noises she thought came from Aju-Lei. After several moments a loud grunt was cut off and the sound of something heavy dropping to the ground outside the tent flap made her step backward until she felt the hide tent wall against her back.

The tent flap wiggled and she couldn’t quite stifle the whimper coming from her.

“It’s all right, Katel, it’s me. We need to get away from here in case he wasn’t alone. Put out the brazier and get your shoes on. I’ll put out the campfire and store it. Hurry Katel.” Then she heard a soft moan from outside and the hiss of the water being poured over the flames.

“Aju-Lei? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine Katel, just hurry and get it done. Refill both lanterns and bring them with you.”

Katel sat on one cushion and put her shoes on before doing what he asked. Normally they put things in order before they deactivated the tent, but his whispers of “hurry, Katel” stopped her from doing more than refilling the lanterns and dumping the water she kept warming on the brazier on the small flame to extinguish it.

It took twenty minutes before they were once more walking. Aju-Lei held his side and hunched over a bit, letting out small moans of pain occasionally. When she tried to help him he shook his head no. “Don’t touch me yet, Katel. Not until I’ve had time to clean up. Another hour of walking and hopefully we’ll find a stream or pond or something.”

After the third time of stumbling and almost falling she told him they had to stop. “You’re hurt terribly, Aju-Lei. We need to stop so I can tend to it.”

“I’m covered in that bastard’s blood, Katel. I can’t let you get your hands dirty with it.”

“It doesn’t matter Aju-Lei, please stop.”

He sighed and leaned against a boulder while she set up their tent, they would forgo an outside fire.

She spread out her old blanket on the floor of the tent when he refused to use his bedroll or the cushions and she helped him to sit. Blood from the man soaked his shirt and when she helped to remove it she saw the blood also came from a wound in his side. She gasped and crawled over to the trunk to take out the bathing supplies and poured the last of their spare water out of the kettle.

She handed him one of her small healing tonics to drink then said, “Hold still, let me wash this then I’ll put on some salve we have.”

He tried not to hiss in pain when the soapy linen ran across the wound. He also tried not to pay attention to the way her hands felt on his bare flesh as she slowly spread the salve she had warmed in her hands over the gash. He winced and groaned when she washed the lump on the back of his head and pressed the cool cloth against it.

He grumbled and told her no when she told him to strip off his pants and to put on his last pair. “That’s not appropriate, Katel.”

She snorted and reached for the fastenings before he could say more. She wiggled and tugged them off once she remembered to undo the fastening at the waist on the back of the pants. He had been in too much pain to even snort when she remembered he had a tail.

She helped to move him onto his bedroll when she had finished, and he thanked her as he closed his eyes in relief. Only to have them pop open almost right afterward when he felt her tending the cuts and scrapes on his knuckles.

“Thank you for saving me, Aju-Lei.”

He sighed and turned his head toward her, “I’m just sorry he got the jump on me. I know better than to ignore a threat. It was my fault he got into the tent.”

She continued to wash his hands and carefully dry them. The cuts on his knuckles weren’t too bad, but they’d be sore for a day or so. She smoothed the salve over them and laid his hands on the bedroll before moving to grab a blanket and cover him. He hummed when he felt her warm lips brush a kiss on his forehead and his eyes were just drifting shut again when he felt her snuggle against his good side. He sighed and wrapped an arm around her pulling her even closer before nuzzling the top of her head and drifting off into a light doze.


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

 

Just after dawn they repacked the tent and once again made their — even slower — way toward Whiterun. They didn’t make it very far before Aju-Lei said they needed to stop. A cold meal of bread and cheese, with a small fire in the brazier, was as much as he could manage before falling asleep again.

Katel sat and finished sorting the floral components into their bags and looked over at a sleeping Aju-Lei occasionally. She wondered where she would be if it wasn’t for him if she would even be alive at that moment. Her thoughts turned to what the large argonian might have done when he found them gone after returning from the stables where he had planned on ambushing her.

Aju-Lei shifted on his bedroll and let out a soft moan. Katel put aside the plants and went to check on him. With him being an argonian it was hard to determine if he was running a fever or not, but she took no chances and opened her small knapsack which she had turned into a carryall for her herbal medicines. She located the green bottle, and after she woke him up she tipped a spoonful into his mouth and helped him to lay back down. She checked his wound, used water from her water skin to soak a square of linen and cleaned the area before reapplying more salve.

The next morning he definitely showed signs of a fever and she gave him more medicine before using the last of her supply of water to make a broth with the remaining piece of the hare and a few vegetables. She let it simmer over a small fire all morning, and when he awoke again near lunch, she gave him his medicine, and a cup of the rich broth.

He awoke that evening as she was eating, and she hurried to his side to help him rise so he could tend to his personal business. She tried not to blush or feel embarrassed as she stood off to the side while he leaned against a boulder to relieve himself. When he finished, she helped him back into the tent and waved off his apology. She gave him more medicine and another cup of broth before he fell back to sleep.

The next morning he woke up feeling better but still weak. He insisted they try to get in a few hours travel that day, especially when she told him they were down to what water he had left in his water skin. He ate the rest of the stew from the night before while she ate an apple and a small wedge of cheese. He refused at first until she told him she had her share of it the night before, and he needed the nourishment to regain his strength.

When they stopped again they had made, at most, another two miles. They had just set up the camp when they heard the calling of a cow to its calf in the distance. The sound was faint, but they both smiled in excitement. They were getting close to the outermost farm in the Whiterun area.

It was late the next day before they spotted the windmill and saw the fenced area which denoted someone’s property. They both let out a sigh of relief and Aju-Lei wrapped an arm around Katel in a hug before they walked again.

“We need to hurry as best we can to make it to the farmhouse. If we can come to an agreement for labor to begin in the morning the remaining light will let us pick a spot to set up camp,” Aju-Lei said as they followed the fence line.

He nodded in acknowledgment when a guard wearing a yellow tabard and carrying a sword and shield walked past them on his patrol.

“Well, that’s a good sign. We must also be near one of the Hold’s watchtowers.”

It was close to sunset before they made it to the farmhouse. The owner, Loreius, told them they could set up their tent near the mill once Aju-Lei agreed to harvest the cabbages which were ready. They would earn one head of cabbage for every fifteen he picked. The owners gave them free use of the well, and the chunks of wood stacked near the block.

They hurried to set up the tent and used the last of the wood they had ready to start their cooking fire. As soon as it was going Aju-Lei gathered their water skins, kettle, and wash basin then went to the well.

They sat around the campfire after dinner and drank a cup of her hot herbal tea, “We should find a water barrel. Almost running out of our water was not something I had planned on,” he said as he looked over to where she scrubbed one of his shirts in the washbasin.

“I agree. Even on the streets of Windhelm, I had access to water to drink,” Katel said as she wrung the soapy water out of the shirt before dropping it on her old blanket with the other garments. She picked up the shirt he had been wearing when they were attacked and grimaced as she dumped it in the basin, the water immediately turned into a garish shade of dull pink as the blood mixed with the dirty water.

“I’ll go get another bucket of water,” he said and gave her an apologetic smile then hurried to refill the wooden bucket he found near the well.

It was nearing midnight when Katel gave a sigh and groaned as she draped the last of their freshly washed laundry over the fish drying rack. She made a mental note to tell Aju-Lei they also needed a laundry line when they went shopping.

She refilled the small kettle and set it near the brazier to warm then laid down next to Aju-Lei. She smiled softly when he rolled over in his sleep and gathered her in his arms.

 

* * *

 

When he joined her in front of their campfire the next night, he handed her three large heads of cabbage before dropping on the ground next to her with a moan.

“Forty-five heads of cabbage… I never want to see another cabbage. Tomorrow it’s leeks and carrots. We’ll get two leeks and carrot bunches for every fifteen, and from the look of those fields it will be a long day.” He groaned as he loosened his belt and tugged his shirt off.

“I’m sorry, Katel but this shirt has just about had it. Can you try to mend the broken seams?”

Katel smiled and nodded before she took the shirt and dropped it on the blanket next to her. After they ate he grunted as he stood and said he wanted to wash up before he headed inside the tent and fixed the flap closed. A few seconds later a red arm shot out and dropped his pants outside. “Could you beat the dust off so they look somewhat clean for tomorrow?”

The next day was a long one. He carried Katel’s handled basket with him and after a long day of toiling the farmer filled the basket with several bunches of leeks and carrots. They also offered him another day's work if he wanted to help dig up potatoes. Three potatoes for every row of plants he dug up.

He trudged back to the tent and sat down heavily after handing her the full basket and telling her he had one more day of work available. That night he could barely lift his arms to remove his shirt. Katel helped him then he gave a startled jump when he felt her hand smoothing and kneading the sore muscles of his shoulders and arms.

“That feels good Katel,” he groaned and sighed with relief as she found a particular knotted muscle and worked on it. “I must have softened up during our travels, I didn’t use to get this sore after loading crates all day.”

“Different work, a different movement,” she said, “Thonrir would sometimes be this sore when he worked in the mines. Which after we left home wasn’t often.”

Aju-Lei didn’t comment, from what Shahvee told him her dead husband couldn’t seem to hold a job for long.

“This would feel better if I had some of Old Hrefran’s muscle rub. She made a thick paste that would warm up as you worked it into your muscles and would relax them even more. I wish I knew the recipe, but we left before she could teach it to me.”

“Why don’t you send a courier to her, let her know you’re not in Windhelm any longer and ask for a few recipes?”

Her hands slowed their kneading of his scaled flesh and he heard her mumble, “Old Hrefran and Thonrir’s family didn’t even know we were in Windhelm at first. Thonrir was supposed to write to them to tell them we were safe, but he kept putting it off. Then the letter I sent to them told them of the death of their only son. They weren’t too happy by the tone of their response letter and seemed to blame me for making him join the Stormcloaks and dying. Since I never heard from Hrefran when I asked them to pass on a message to her I don’t know if she cares that I’m alive or if she’s even still alive.”

Aju-Lei reached back over his shoulder and caressed her hand, being careful not to scratch her with his long nails. “It wouldn’t hurt to write to her. At least you would either get the letter back as undeliverable due to her death or if no response comes back, then you’ll know she desires no communication.”

She smoothed her hands over his broad shoulders again and traced several patches of a darker red and black scales before she said she would think about it.

By the end of the next day, Aju-Lei was ready to drop. He sat the overly stuffed basket of potatoes on the small dining table then ducked into the tent. When he didn’t come back out several minutes later she poked her head inside to see him lying face down on the bedroll fast asleep, still fully clothed and with his boots on.

She rolled him onto his side and shook her head when he only snorted then snored. She quickly unlaced his boots and removed them before untying his belt and sliding it out from under him. She debated whether to wake him up long enough to remove his dirty shirt, but she let him sleep for a while longer. When dinner was ready, she’d wake him then.

Aju-Lei groaned as he sat up the next morning. His stomach growled, and he had to relieve himself badly. His boots were off as was his belt, but he had fallen asleep in his clothes.

When he returned from behind the large rock they used as a privacy area Katel had a plate of bread, and cheese cut up for him, with a cup of steaming tea sitting on the small table.

“I tried to wake you for dinner, but you were out, and sleeping so deeply that all you did was bat at my hand and snore louder,” she said.

His hide darkened to a crimson red as he fought with embarrassment, “I’m sorry about that; I was just so tired.”

She grinned and rubbed his shoulder, “I was only teasing. I know you’ve been working so hard. I wish I could be of more help.”

He wrapped an arm around her hips and pulled her in for a hug before he sat down, “You’ve been helping plenty. You do all the cooking, mending, and washing. Maybe when we get closer to town, we can figure out what you can do if you want to work. We must see what’s available for both of us.”

They were packing up their tent and campfire kit when they heard someone calling out to them. Aju-Lei turned and saw the owner’s wife waving at them and carrying a basket.

“Wait a moment,” she said and held out the basket to Katel before saying to Aju-Lei, “I know my husband didn’t pay you in coin as he should have, but I wanted to give you a few more things as a thank you for doing so much work for us.”

Katel lifted the flour sack away from the basket and saw several small rounds of herb and flower flavored cheeses, three round loaves of bread, and a small metal container of salted butter.

“Thank you, this is generous of you,” Katel said and tucked the cloth back over the basket’s contents.

“It’s just a token. This husband of yours is a hard worker. I wish my husband would work as hard, maybe we could expand our farm and make it more profitable. But I’m glad you like the gift. One more thing,” she said as she handed a dumbfounded Aju-Lei a folded sheet of parchment. “When you reach one of the other farms hand them this letter, it tells them of the work you’ve done for us, and they should pay you a decent wage because you would earn every Septim. Feel free to fill up your water containers and stock firewood in your packs before you go.”

Aju-Lei and Katel stared at the woman’s retreating back.

“When did you become my husband?”

“I–don’t know. That’s the first time she said anything to me. Normally she was hoeing one of the other fields getting ready to plant something when I worked at bringing in their harvest.”

“Well, that was rather odd, don’t you think?” she asked as they filled their water skins.

He nodded and looked up at the farmhouse then back at her. “I supposed she assumed we were married because of traveling together and sharing a tent.”

On the afternoon of their third day of traveling, they ran across a giant apple orchard belonging to the Whiterun Ciderhouse. Aju-Lei spoke with the owner and ordered each of them a cup of Whiterun spiced hot cider before sitting at one of the few unoccupied tables.

“He’ll pay us one Septim per basket of apples we bring in, as long as they aren’t worm-riddled or windfalls. He’ll pay us two Septims per bushel for the windfall ones, but we have to keep them separate as they’re sold to the farmer next door to feed his cows and hogs as treats.”

After they drank their ciders Aju-Lei followed the owner behind the ciderhouse to the storage building and listened carefully as he showed Aju-Lei the clean, pale brown baskets for the good apples, and the larger dark, stained bushel sized baskets used for the windfalls only. He loaded the small handcart with the windfall baskets, wheeled it out the first tree in a long row of trees, and went back for the ladder and good baskets.

The rest of the day they spent gathering the apples. Katel gathered the windfalls while Aju-Lei climbed the tall ladder. She would grin and wipe the sweat from her brow as she called up she had another basket full and ready for him.

They took almost a week of working from sunup to sundown to gather all the apples. Katel was paid for her forty bushels of windfalls and Aju-Lei tucked the heavy purse of Septims for his apples into his pack. He took a moment as Katel went to look at the wares for sale on a counter and thanked the man for giving her a job, instead of turning her away as everyone else had. The man shrugged and told him he knew a war widow when he saw one, there were plenty of them coming through lately.

Katel carried a jug of the Markarth blend cider over to the counter and paid for it, smiling widely at the man as she counted out the gold.

“Check in with the Battle-Born farm next door, it should be time for them to bring in their beans, tomatoes, gourds, and wheat.”

Aju-Lei nodded and took the heavy jug from Katel and carried it to their tent. He almost dropped it when as soon as they entered she whirled and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed with health and happiness. “That was amazing. I felt like I had a purpose, and was being useful, not just a stone you had to lug around.”

He sat the jug on the small table and enfolded her in his arms. “I’ve told you before that’s not how it is. We’re in this together and it’s working rather well. We’ve gotten far as a team and made some decent money. You’ve kept us fed and tended any wounds.”

He stroked her soft cheek with the back of one finger, “I like this new you, Katel. Happy and smiling. Beautiful.”

“I don’t think I’ve felt like this for a long time, Aju-Lei.”

He grinned down at her and the smile slowly relaxed from his face as he stared into her eyes. His thumb brushed along her cheekbone, and he slowly lowered his head to hers. Being an argonian he didn’t have actual lips to kiss her with, but he pressed his mouth to hers gently then moved to nuzzle her neck, and gave a soft flick of his tongue behind her ear which caused her to gasp, and jump slightly.

He pulled her unresisting body closer as he nuzzled her again and ran his wet tongue along the tendon on her neck. “Mm,” he moaned softly in her ear, and he felt her shudder. He closed his eyes as he nuzzled his way back to her lips for another brief pressing of his mouth on hers before shifting away and dropping his forehead to rest on hers for a moment. “Beautiful,” he whispered.


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

 

 

As Katel hid their money pouches in the bottom of the storage box, she kept glancing at Aju-Lei who leaned on their table and stared at the map he had unrolled on it.

“According to what the ciderhouse owner told me, the Battle-Born farm is the closest farm to here. He said when we see the farm we’ll also be able to see the town of Whiterun. So we have to be about here,” he said as he pointed to a spot on the map. She closed the lid of the chest and walked over to see what he pointed to. “If I’m right, we should have about a week’s worth of walking to do to make it to the gates. Well, in between working these farms, if any of them wants help.”

He glanced down at her, “How are we for funds?”

She smiled up at him. “With combining what we already had, and what we made this past week we have close to six hundred Septims. That’s more money than I ever had before.”

He grunted and nodded, “We’re doing well then. We have to be frugal and not go on a splurge when we get to town, other than replacing these rags we are wearing as clothing. We need not spend money on an Inn unless you want a bed to sleep in for a night instead of the bedroll?”

She shook her head, “Our tent is more than satisfactory, although...”

“Although what?”

“Well, if there is a trader somewhere I’d like to see about getting a better kettle, and maybe a skillet? The cooking stone we found works great to make flatbreads, but a skillet to fry fish, or meats and eggs… I would love to get one.”

“A skillet?” He grinned down at her, “I don’t think we will have a problem with affording a new kettle and skillet. We'll use the beat up kettle to heat bathing water at least.” 

Once he rolled the map up and made sure they had everything put in its place, he activated the shrinking spell. He tucked the small bundle of fur and leather into a pack and they walked South again. The sound of cows mooing to each other grew louder as the day progressed.

Katel grew excited when on their second day of walking she spotted the high stone walls which protected the town off in the distance. Aju-Lei swung her around and laughed when she squealed. He pointed to the fenced property in front of him with several cows grazing along-side sheep. “It must be the Battle-Born farm.”

After negotiating their wages and setting up their tent, they worked beside each other gathering up the long strings of bean pods from rows of large triangular trellises. At a quick glance, Aju-Lei whispered to her that there were at least fifty of the structures to work on. She let out a soft groan and kept on picking. When her leg hurt he helped her to the chair he had carried with them, and Katel separated the beans from their pods. Shelling them would earn extra Septims and it was something she could do while resting.

Three days later they added a five-pound sack of dried beans to their personal food stocks and started to pick the ripe tomatoes. By the end of the second week, Aju-Lei had everything harvested, and Katel was trying to find space in their storage trunk for the small wooden crate of tomatoes, the sack of flour, and the six gourds the farm owner gave them as part of their payment. She looked up as Aju-Lei stepped into their tent and held out his shirt.

“The blasted seams tore again,” he muttered and dropped it on the small table before heading back out without a shirt on and went back to chopping firewood to replenish their supply and make a few last Septims before they left in the morning.

With stopping to work the farms between the Battle-Born farm and where the road turned off to head toward Whiterun another two months went by and the weather had turned fairly warm. They no longer woke as cold and dreading to see nothing but white when they poked their heads out of their tent. Now downpours and rivers of mud running through the center of the poorly cobbled road were what they woke up to.

Aju-Lei pointed to the large building at the crossroads, “That must be the Honningbrew Meadery. Wilmuth at Chillfarrow farm told us of it. He said we should be able to get small, used casks to fill with water there.”

Aju-Lei tried to push the door to the Meadery open, then pull on it, but it wouldn’t budge. “That’s odd. It’s locked during their posted hours.” A whistle caught their attention, and a guard waved to them.

“What’re you doing there, argonian?”

“We were hoping to buy casks from the Meadery but they appear to be closed today,” Aju-Lei said, careful to keep his hands away from the dagger he wore at his side.

“Aye,” the guard let out a sigh and gave a brief nod. “The owner of the Meadery closed it up a short while ago, said he had to do repairs or something and it’s been closed since. Best you move on, check with the general store in town or even the Inn may have what you’re looking for.”

They thanked the guard and headed toward the town, stopping at one of the largest farms they had encountered yet and securing work for Aju-Lei for two days a week until the snows started again.

They wandered their way past several stalls and stopped to browse before moving on and asking a guard about the regulations for setting up a camping spot. The guard pointed to an area off the main road where several other tents were already set up.

“Find a spot and stay within the marked boundary. Two guards patrol and we don’t tolerate theft. If you’re looking to peddle wares, go see the steward in Dragon Reach Keep before you set up. He’ll give you a merchant pass and take the fee.”

They hurried over to the roped off area and tried to find a spot large enough for their tent and campfire.

“What about here?” Katel said after they paced off several other areas where the small tents had been so widely scattered leaving much of the available space wasted.

“I think so… if we angle it so the opening is here.” Aju-Lei stepped back and made sure the area was clear before laying down the fist-size package of leather and fur. He took a few steps back and muttered the phrase to activate it and the tent sprung up startling an old man who sat next to only a piece of sailcloth propped up with sticks.

Aju-Lei whispered to her to pack everything into the chest and shrink it down to take with them, because even though the guards said they didn’t tolerate thievery someone still had to see the thief to accuse them.

She nodded and packed everything away, careful to whisper the phrases for the pieces with activation codes.

“We don’t have room in here for the crates of firewood, not if we make sure our food is safe,” she hissed at him.

He nodded and whipped his head toward the tent flap. She clamped her mouth shut as he inched his way toward the opening. The startled gasps from several people as Aju-Lei practically leaped from the opening made her jump.

“May I help you?” Aju-Lei said as he blocked the door to the tent.

“We-we were just curious about the tent. It wasn’t there five minutes ago and I don’t know of anyone who can set up this large of a tent so quickly,” one man said and a woman beside him nodded.

Aju-Lei said nothing about the tent to them, “We’ve had it for a while now. It’s easier than you think to set it up. Was there anything else?”

Katel popped her head out and limped to stand next to him, his arm automatically went around her in a protective gesture.

“We have a communal cooking fire if you don’t want to set up your own. You need your own pot and such. One of the elderly women tends it, and we all pitch in with supplying firewood. We’ve set up the laundry as a one-day affair, the men all haul the water here from the river across the road and fill up the cauldrons to heat. We take turns to keep them filled, and the fire hot while the women wash the clothes. I suppose your wife will do yours but feel free to join the other women on wash day, they usually turn it into a gossip fest,” one man told them then cried “ouch,” when one of the more burly women punched his arm.

Aju-Lei thanked them for the information and Katel gave a weak smile to them when he said they had to be going. He kept Katel near him as they sidestepped tent pegs and lines which would trip the unwary. They looked at several more stalls with Katel buying a few food items and placing them into her handled basket she brought with her.

The khajiit caravan had yet to arrive, but one farmer told them they would show up in two days like clockwork; they were never late.

When they made it to the impressively tall, wooden gate doors one guard asked them to state their business then opened a door inset into one of the large doors to let them enter the town. Both Katel and Aju-Lei stopped just inside and looked at the people bustling around. Dogs barked, children ran in the streets, guards were everywhere, and the constant banging of the smith’s hammer on an anvil came from their right.

They stopped to check with the blacksmith to see if she needed any work loading coal into their smelter or basic help around the shop. The woman told them she was looking for someone with smithing skills but wasn’t in need of anything else since she had someone to run the shop while she made the goods.

They got directions to the market area, the Inn, and to the Dragon Reach Keep from her before they left. The road toward the market passed several street vendors selling wares that comprised apples, cheeses, books, bags, baskets, lanterns, and everything else imaginable. They purchased a few items and finally located a vendor selling a variety of pots and pans, from blackened iron to bright, shiny copper, and gleaming steel. They purchased skillets of blackened iron and another of steel, along with a new copper kettle and matching hammered mugs.

A quick stop inside a general goods store left them with a bad taste in their mouths as the owner had a rotten sense of humor and offered to buy Aju-Lei or his sister if he had one.

The alchemist shop offered several recipes which Katel looked at then passed over before she bought several bottles, corks, sealing wax, and a few ingredients. Her basket was getting full, and she looked over at Aju-Lei to make sure she wasn’t buying too much. He smiled at her and pointed to a clothier shop.

The two women working in the store helped them to pick out clothing for work. They were quick to point out the men’s shirts had extra fabric under the arms and double seams. They purchased several sets of ready-made clothes, and the tailor assured Aju-Lei the adjustments to the pants to accommodate his tail would be finished by morning. As one woman wrapped their purchases in a paper, the other one told them where to find the cobbler.

On the way to purchase new shoes, they stopped at the Inn and Aju-Lei learned the Innkeeper would purchase as much firewood as he could bring her. He noticed not only an enormous fire pit in the center of the room, but several large cooking spits in the kitchen area, and from the look of it several rooms also had fireplaces for heat. She gave him the location of the woodcutter’s area and told him there was plenty there; it was free to use for everyone but he had to supply his own axe.

They finished their shopping in the market area and took the stairs leading to where the keep sat high above the town. When they saw the number of stairs leading up to it Aju-Lei hissed and looked around. Several benches sat around a newly flowering tree and he led Katel over to them and piled their belongings up next to her.

“Wait here while I go up and get the merchants pass for us. Why they couldn’t have a representative in the market district I don’t know, but that’s a lot of stairs to climb just to pay a fee and get a piece of paper.”

Katel was getting cold when Aju-Lei finally came back. The sun was close to setting and it would take hours to get back to their tent. “I’m sorry. There were other people there, and the blasted man wasn’t only slow in getting anything done, but resistant to letting another argonian set up shop. I couldn’t get us a slot in town but finally could talk him into letting us set up a small table in the exterior markets. You can sell your tonics, and also the handcrafted bits I make. Anything you want to sell, really. The only stipulation he gave was no drugs and no stolen items, and they weren’t responsible for theft.”

Katel smiled as he gathered up the packages, “The gourd bowls?” she said, and he nodded and chuckled.

“The gourd bowls and water bottles. I have ideas for a few other things too.”

 

* * *

 

The first week in Whiterun went by quickly. Aju-Lei found several sturdy crates for sale cheap. He had the woodsmith make a thin table top plank from some scrap wood to set up as a table for Katel to use as a stall. They lucked out when they caught the owner of the Honningbrew Meadery in the Inn having dinner and told he had a stock of vinegar at the Meadery and would be glad to sell it to Katel for a reasonable price. They placed an order for two firkin sized water kegs and purchased another to hold the vinegar in. She purchased a length of linen fabric she dyed overnight in a giant pot full of water, vinegar, and as many red mountain flowers as she and Aju-Lei could find in one day.

The fabric came out a bright red which caught everyone’s eyes when she spread it over the plank. By the time she lined up her bottles of freshly made cough, pain relieving, and fever tonics, and stacked several gourd bowls of various sizes, and water bottles on the table there were people already standing and waiting. Several asked about the bowls, a few purchased the pain-relieving tonics, but most asked about the cloth.

“How did you get it such a bright color? The dyed cloth the clothier has is not like this, it’s deeper shades or dark. Even their yellows don’t look bright, but dull,” one woman asked.

Another woman nodded as she fingered the cloth feeling how soft it was. “And it’s soft too. Almost like the cloth a lord or Jarl would demand for his clothing.”

“The dyeing of the cloth is simple if you put in the time to gather the right ingredients and measure out the water, white vinegar, and keep the water warm, but not hot.”

“White vinegar?” one woman asked in confusion.

Katel nodded, “Yes, the woman who taught me how to make these tonics also told me how to use the ingredients to dye cloth. White vinegar not only sets the color into the fabrics, but softens the cloth, and keeps the colors from fading during a wash. Using a cooler water to wash and rinse the soap out helps. Boiling colored cloth fades the colors quickly. Only boil non-dyed or white ones, never colored. You can get white vinegar from brewers who make alcohol from corn. It’s part of the process and most will sell it cheap, it makes a good cleaner for windows too, just dilute it first. The owner of the Honningbrew Meadery sells it by the cask.”

“You should sell the cloth, with instructions on how to keep it looking nice,” a different woman said as she picked up one of Aju-Lei’s bowls and looked at it.

“Aju-Lei makes the bowls from gourds. It holds soups and stews without leaking, and it is easy to clean. You don’t have to worry about what they used to stain it with getting into your food or splinters. If it ever breaks or gets a crack, you can toss it on your compost pile.”

“What about this one?” asked one who picked up a strangely shaped gourd which had a cork in the top.

“That one is a water bottle. It holds water just like a leather waterskin, but you need not do all the curing, scraping, and stitching to it you would if you made it from leather. Plus the water tastes fresh and clean from one of these gourds,” Katel said as reached down into her basket and brought up a gourd she was using herself. She poured the water from it into one of the small gourd bowls to show that it didn’t leak.

The women ended up buying several of the bowls, all the water bottle gourds, and two of the remaining cough and fever tonics. One woman told her if she ever dyed cloth to sell to let her know.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei helped to pack up the few remaining items into a basket as Katel folded the red cloth. “Tomorrow is a fishing day, I’ll be glad for the rest,” he said as he picked up the basket and chair.

“I feel the same. The women loved the cloth and after showing them how well your bowls worked, they bought all but a few.”

He smiled at her as he placed the chair near their small fire pit and brought the table out of the tent. “I’ll buy more gourds from the markets when I go to cut the Inn’s firewood.”

At the end of the month, Aju-Lei added another small plank table to their stall which held different lengths of colored fabric. Everything from bright red, to deepest green made from various leaves and grasses. Katel charged double what they paid for the linen and wool cloth, and the women of Whiterun and even the khajiit caravan traders were purchasing it as fast as she laid it on the table.

Katel took several lengths of different colors to the tailor and had tunics for Aju-Lei, and several dresses for herself made which they would only wear on their shopping days. For each person who asked about where they got them, she would tell them the tailor-made them from the cloth Katel dyed. Business boomed for both, and the thankful tailor discounted their purchases.


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

 

Over time, they settled into their routines, they even got used to being referred to as each other's spouse. The weather turned cooler and all the men stocked increasingly more firewood in the community area.

Aju-Lei dropped off his load of firewood and stopped to nuzzle Katel’s neck as she made their dinner before entering the tent. When Katel ducked inside a short time later, she saw him sitting at their small table counting out their gold and placing it into small pouches.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she walked over and draped an arm over his shoulders.

He leaned into her before smiling up at her. “We’ve been here for months now, Katel, and we’ve been making a good living. But, I’m tired of living in this tent. I want to buy us a home. You and me. A couple with a house in town, a big, comfy bed, locking doors, a real kitchen. To do that, I need to see what we have available, and what we need to keep aside for emergencies. Then figure out how long we will need to save up to buy it, making sure we keep our daily living expenses separate.”

Katel’s smile slowly slid off her face and he began to worry. “What? What did I say to upset you? Don’t you want a home? Or is it because I wanted one for us both?” He slowly pushed his chair back and stood up. “Or was it because I called us a couple?”

She gripped his hand, “It isn’t because of us being a couple, we are essentially already a couple. It’s because… because Thonrir always made those same promises. ‘We’ll have a house, Katel. We’ll have children, Katel. You’ll never be hungry or alone again, Katel.’ And all he did was break those promises. He had no concept of what it costs, how to save, what to spend our money on. And look where it left me when he died. I don’t want that to happen again. We have this tent, it’s ours. The clothing is ours, the pots and pans, even the fire so I’m never cold again. It’s ours with no one able to take it away from us. I can’t live like that again.”

Aju-Lei’s harsh look softened, “You won’t have to worry about that, Katel. We are keeping this tent, all the supplies, everything. We won‘t pawn or sell anything to buy the house. You will always have shelter. If it makes you worry less, keep the tent, chest, and campfire set up with you at all times; once we purchase a home.

I’m also not saying to use every Septim we have to splurge on something which leaves us without funds. What I’m hoping to do is count our money, set aside funds we won’t touch which we will keep in the chest and added to at least every month. Then we can figure out how much it costs us out of what we make weekly to buy food and all the supplies, we’ll put that aside out of what we earn. We can use the rest for a home, or other things. We’ll add to it over time until we have enough to purchase the home outright, not rent it, then no one can come along and toss us out. I’m not going to arbitrarily take our money and just spend it all. You also have a say in it. If you don’t like the house or don’t like the area, then say so and we can discuss it.”

He stroked her hair and brought her in tight against his body, “I know what you went through. I would never leave you without a means to survive in such a way. We do this together and we do it right. We have plenty of time, but knowing what we have, and what we need to keep to live on will help us stay on track.”

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, “I’m sorry. I know you’re not like Thonrir. You’ve proved it since the day I first met you. It’s just hard to shake the feeling when something you say sounds like something he would have. I’d like a home someday, even though this tent is a better home than I had in many years.”

“We will have a decent home when we’re ready. With just the two of us we need little. A stout door, two chairs, and a table to sit and eat at, along with two stuffed, comfortable chairs in front of a fireplace to sit and warm ourselves during the cold winter months. A kitchen for you to cook in, a sitting room to relax in, and a bedroom with two wardrobes and a nice, big, comfortable bed for us,” he said as he nuzzled her neck.

She blushed. Their relationship had progressed little past nuzzles, kisses, and hugs before sleeping entwined every night. With everyone assuming they were married they never corrected those assumptions. It made it easier on both of them. And they both agreed, no matter if they wanted to take the next step in their relationship they didn’t want to do it there. Even with the tent flap securely tied shut at night, they could hear the man in the next tent snoring, or worse after he drank himself to sleep he would fart loud enough to make the camp dog bark at the noise. It was not conducive to romance.

 

* * *

 

Winter hit them with the first blizzard less than a week later and it lasted for days. The elderly woman, Greta, who tended the fire, came down with a bad cold and the women took turns tending to her and to the fire. Katel’s turn came right after Aju-Lei left to go with several other men to town for more firewood and supplies.

Katel hummed to the woman and gave her spoonfuls of her fever and cough tonics before helping her drink some warm, rich broth she had made that morning by simmering several pieces of poultry, onions, leeks, carrots, cabbage, and a few dried herbs together.

The woman sighed and laid back in the bedroll. Katel covered her with a blanket made of thick pelts Aju-Lei cured from hunting wolves with the men for communal meat, and a share of the bounty on them.

Katel set the small pot of broth back on the brazier she had brought with her to help warm the inside of the woman’s tent.

“You and your husband are good people, Katel. Neither one of you ever said how you came to be here or why you’re living in a tent. I know with most of these other people it’s because of the war taking their spouses or losing their homes in the fighting. Some I know are on the run from either the Imperial Army or the Stormcloaks.

I’m here because my husband died several years ago. We had a nice home but the tax collectors came calling, and I had no choice but to sell it. What I had left went to purchase this tent and supplies, and what I’ve been living off of since. Thankfully, I didn’t have far to go, and the people living in this tent city are generous with their help.”

Katel shifted the blanket over the woman and tucked it closer to her before answering. “The war took my first husband and left me with no Septims, homeless, and on the brink of starvation. Aju-Lei’s life in Windhelm wasn’t the best. He and I left the town together and have been together ever since. I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for him and a few other argonians who helped us.”

The woman coughed and Katel wiped the spittle from the woman’s mouth. “He’s a good man and don’t you let anyone say any different. Some nords are just too blind to see the worth and goodness in the other races.”

Katel added another small piece of wood to the brazier and after a few minutes, the crackling of the flame was the only thing heard except for the light, rattling breath of the ill woman.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei looked over the small, two-wheeled, wooden cart then the small pony. He bent to check its feet, then ran his hands up its legs and along its back and chest. Finally checking the eyes, mouth, and ears for any problems. He took several steps back from the stable master and rubbed his scaled chin.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Aju-Lei said as he continued to look at the shaggy, brown pony with the big doe eyes. “That small pony doesn’t look strong enough to pull this cart if it was filled with goods or loaded with firewood.”

“She comes from strong, hardy, farm stock. The farmer lives a short distance to the west of here in a town called Rorikstead. They have no stable there, and he came here to trade the pony and cart for a horse more suitable for his son. The boy enlisted in the Stormcloak army and hoped having his own horse would get his boy out of the foot-soldier class and into an officer position. We have no use for a pony and cart, but the owner of the stables, Lillith Maiden-Loom, is a customer of your wife’s and likes her cloth and tonics. She wanted to give you first opportunity to purchase it at a discount for hauling the tent city's firewood and helping your wife get to market.”

Aju-Lei crossed his arms and rocked back on one leg as his tail swung to the left then to the right. If he purchased the pony and cart at the asking price it would set them back two months of home savings, but the cart would help move all the wood faster to the tents, and he could use it to haul chopped wood for the Inn. If he could fill the cart up each time, it would earn him more money and save time with not having to run back and forth to drop off each bundle.

“Include a horse blanket, brushes, a new set of good shoes for her, and four flakes of hay into the deal and I’ll take it. Fifteen hundred Gold Septims, not bank notes so you won’t lose money in exchanging them.”

The nord stable master looked at him and crossed his own arms. “Seventeen hundred and you’ll get all of that, and I’ll throw in a set of reins in case your wife wants to ride the pony instead of in the cart.”

Aju-Lei shook his head. “No deal. Fifteen hundred is what we can afford, and my wife is taller than the pony so would look rather odd riding on it.”

The stable master let out a small guffaw of laughter then held up a hand. “Just let me relay your offer to Lillith first.”

Aju-Lei ran a hand through the pony’s mane and along its soft nose causing it to blow out against him and shake its head. A small tickle under its chin and the horse nickered softly before lowering its head to snuffle in the straw at its feet hoping to find a tasty treat.

The stable master returned carrying a blanket, and a wooden bucket with some tools inside.

“She agreed to your offer. One thick, new horse blanket, and several brushes and combs. She told me to toss in tools to keep the hooves clean and healthy. I’ll give her new shoes, and load the flakes into the cart then hitch up the pony for you while you get the gold,” he said, and Aju-Lei held out a hand. The stable master shook it, and Aju-Lei headed into town to withdraw the money from the bank.

With a little shifting of the hay in the back of the cart, Aju-Lei loaded several armloads of firewood to the load. He clicked to the pony after giving a gentle tug on the lead rope and they started back toward the tent-city.

Katel heard the chatter of children’s excitement and the creaking of a wagon. She poked her head out of her tent and saw Aju-Lei leading a small pony and cart. Her forehead wrinkled as he brought the cart to a halt near their tent. The men unloaded the wood from the back and stacked it with the rest as he ducked into their tent.

“Yes, Katel, before you say anything I purchased the pony and cart and received a superb deal from the owner of the stable. I’ll be able to offset the cost of them quickly now I know the pony can pull a fairly loaded cart. Let me get a lean-to shelter built for her then we’ll talk and I’ll outline everything.”

Katel watched as the men helped to move several tents before they dragged armloads of branches from the surrounding trees and the children gathered up the smaller ones to make a dry place to stack the hay. She watched as Aju-Lei and the others built a shelter under several trees behind their tent large enough to hold the cart and pony. They layered branch after branch along the top and sides from the pine trees and tied them with rope to hold them against the frame. She heard one man comment that if Aju-Lei purchased three bundles of straw he could thatch the roof for added protection and help to keep the warmth in. Katel returned to the tent and waited for Aju-Lei to come inside and explain his purchase.

Aju-Lei tended the pony and covered her with the thick, wool blanket. He moved the branch door one of the young men had built to serve as a blockade to keep the pony from wandering into place, tied the ropes around it, and wiggled it to make sure it was as secure as possible before he looked inside to see the pony shift from one side to the other before settling in for the night in the fully enclosed area of the lean-to.

Aju-Lei walked tiredly to his tent and ducked inside. Katel sat at the small table making garlic braids as he came in.

She ladled a serving of soup into one of the gourd bowls, and put a small platter of cheese and bread in front of him, along with the warm kettle of tea.

After eating a few bites told her of the deal, the comparison between the amount of wood he cut for the Inn, and what he thought he could cut and load into the cart to take to the Inn without wasting as much time. Then he told her she would have use of the pony and cart to carry her goods to the market instead of only taking a few things at a time. He would make sure she was settled at the stall then go to work. Since the farms weren’t harvesting anything he could cut wood five days and spend the other two with her, same as before. Only those five days could make them more money than three cutting wood and two working a farm a few months out of the year.

“The pony and cart both are ours outright. As long as we take care of her and keep her safe she’ll be of great help to us.”

Katel watched him closely. She saw how he held nothing back but told her in plain terms what it had cost, and how much he could make back, and how long it would take.

She cleared her throat. “Well, I suppose it was a good purchase, especially if it will help bring more wood here. Several more people have started their own fires closer to their tents than the communal fire pit is. We’ll also need more wood cut for the brazier, so if you wouldn’t mind when you bring the straw for the thatching, you could also bring us some wood. While you’re in town, could you check with the Inn to see if that order for the firkin casks we asked for has arrived yet?”

He nodded then slid the passbook from the bank toward her for her to look at as he finished his dinner. “We have three thousand Septims in the bank. By the end of winter, I’m hoping to have close to five. In the spring I’d like us to see the housing agent and discuss finding a home. At least to see what they have and how much. I don’t want to go now because for the money we have we won’t be able to get anything anywhere near decent.”

Katel nodded and stood up to refill his soup bowl and put the passbook back into the chest for safekeeping.

Several weeks went by before another blizzard brought most of the area to a halt. Aju-Lei bundled up in furs and grabbed his axe from the chest. Several of the men were waiting when he came out of the lean-to with the pony and cart and they trudged through the blinding snow toward the town’s wood cutting area. With the four of them cutting wood they had the cart full in less than three hours and they started back.

One of the older children waited until they unloaded the cart before he took the pony into the now thatched and warmer shelter. He carefully brushed her down and cleaned the packed snow out of the hooves before he placed a feed bag with some oats and hay over her mouth and covered her with the blanket. When the boy told Aju-Lei he finished the chore, Aju-Lei looked the pony over carefully then handed the child two copper Septims.

“It’s bad out there Katel. Check on Greta, one man told me she wasn’t doing too well yesterday, and he worried about her.”

“She’s been living in that thin tent for years, Aju-Lei, it’s a wonder she hasn’t been ill all the time.”

He nodded and poured a cup of hot tea as she wrapped her fur cloak around herself and grabbed her pack with her tonics and medical salves in it.

 

* * *

 

The tent-city dwellers were somber and quiet a few days later when they laid Greta to rest. The blizzard finally stopped that morning, just hours before they all made their way through the knee-deep snow up to the town where the Hall of the Dead was located. Even the birds, who would normally sing in the first meager sunlight they had in a week, stayed quiet.

Less than an hour later the large group went back to their tent-city where two of the men dismantled Greta’s tent and packed it along with her meager belongings into a crate and stored it in a shed next to the woodpile.

Life went on for the rest of them when the sun rose the next morning.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW

* * *

 

 

Katel slowly stirred the stew in the cooking pot as she thought about Greta. The woman was only a few years older than Old Hrefran. Maybe she should write to her, only if it was to learn if she lived or not. That night she sat at the table and after several minutes began to write. Aju-Lei didn’t disturb her, just waited until she finished and sealed the letter shut using melted wax from one of the sealing sticks.

She held the addressed letter out to him and he gave it a quick glance before tucking it into his pack. He told her he’d drop it off at the courier service in the morning before he began working.

Another two weeks went by as Katel tended her market stall while bundled up in a hooded, fur cloak with mittens and a new pair of knee-high boots; both lined with more fur from several hares Aju-Lei caught using his snare trap. She sold the last of the cloth she dyed when the blizzard kept her from working her stall. With the help of the neighboring stall owner, she loaded the plank top into the back of the small cart and slid the empty crates into the back. Before she turned around a male cleared his throat behind her.

“Skyrim Provincial Courier Services, I have a delivery for a Katel Winter-Song. Someone directed me to you.”

“I’m Katel,” she said, and the man handed her a sealed piece of parchment before hurrying back toward the main road.

Katel flipped the parchment over and read the front. “Deliver to Katel Winter-Song, Whiterun.” She tucked it into her pack and picked up her basket to put into the cart and make the trip into the town so Aju-Lei could load the cart with wood for the communal fire.

As he loaded the cart, he kept watching Katel open her pack and look inside every few minutes. “What’s going on?” he said at one point when he took a break.

“I received a letter earlier.”

“From whom?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but they addressed it to my maiden name, and knew to deliver it here in Whiterun.”

Later in the evening while sipping a steaming cup of tea she opened the letter. Aju-Lei added several small pieces of wood to the brazier and lounged on his giant cushion watching her as she read.

When she finished, she dropped the letter into her lap. “It’s from Old Hrefran, she’s alive, and still living in the same house selling her tonics and wares. She said they never told her about me living in Windhelm, or that I had asked about her when I wrote to Thonrir’s parents. They never said a word to her.

She didn’t know if I was alive or not and has been praying to hear from me since I snuck out that night and disappeared. She assumed we ran off to get married, Thonrir’s parents assumed so too, but apparently, they weren’t worried. From what she said, they still couldn’t see how irresponsible he could be.

She says she is so happy and relieved since she’s heard from me. Then berated me for waiting so long and not contacting her right away after he died. She said she would have sent me the coin for the carriage to bring me home.”

Aju-Lei sat up and brushed the tears from her cheeks before nuzzling her. “Do you want to go home?” he asked quietly, and her eyes lifted from the tear-stained paper laying in her lap to meet his orange-yellow eyes.

“I am home, Aju-Lei. I’m here with you. You’ve become my home, my haven, my shelter,” she whispered.

He brushed her hair with his hand and nodded, “As you’re my home Katel, but home can mean many things. Do you want us to return to your village?”

She thought for several minutes while leaning into his touch, “No. Now that I know she lives, I’ll send couriers with letters and stay in touch with her through them. I think it would be better than returning there. Seeing me would bring back too many memories for Thonrir’s parents, and I don’t want to cause them more grief.”

He kissed her gently and said, “Alright. I doubt they would understand you bringing me there as your husband either.”

She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what they think of me having a new husband. They offered no help to their daughter-in-law when their son died, so they have no real say. I don’t want to upset their lives anymore.”

He gave a low grunt then stood up and wrapped a fur cloak about himself, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Katel nodded, and she rose off her own cushion to put the letter in the chest. Katel extinguished the one lantern and partially shuttered the other one as she quickly washed and dressed for sleeping. She shivered slightly as the tent flap opened and Aju-Lei walked in. He quickly fastened the flap closed and placed her old blanket up against the gap between the flap and the hide which made up the floor of their tent in that area.

“It’s cold out there, looks like it might snow. Again.”

She laughed and slid one last piece of wood into the brazier to warm them through the night then climbed into their makeshift bed. She watched him carefully drape his fur cloak on the wooden chair and stick a glove on each one of the small raised knobs on the chair back. He placed his boots on a piece of scrap leather and put them near the brazier to dry overnight. She smiled at him as he raised his eye ridge plate and saw her watching him.

He stripped off his shirt and then grinned as he blew out the candle in the lantern, plunging the tent into semi-darkness. She heard him removing his pants and water splashing around as he washed.

She shivered slightly as a few minutes later he slid between the open bedrolls they laid out next to each other, and the wolf furs she had sewn together to make a thick blanket for them.

When he had scooted around and rolled toward her, she moved closer and wrapped an arm around him. “Thank you for suggesting I write to her.”

He gave a rumbling hum and one-armed hug as he nuzzled the top of her head. “I’m glad she’s still alive and wasn’t intentionally hurting you when she didn’t originally respond to you.”

He sighed when he felt her kissing him. The hold he had on her grew stronger as he pulled her even tighter. He felt her breasts flattening against him as his erection grew thick and long. He groaned softly in frustration as he eased his body from hers and broke the kiss with a soft apology.

In the very dim light given off by the covered brazier, Katel looked into Aju-Lei’s eyes. Her fingers traced the heavy plates which made up the ridges above them and lent expression to his face. She trailed them over the smooth plating of his head and down his rigid cheekbones and along his jaw. One fingertip slid across the front of his mouth before gently cupping the side of his face and leaning in for another kiss.

Aju-Lei’s nostril slits flared as his breathing and pulse quickened. His eyes closed on a soft moan when he felt her stroking the side of his neck and along his horn. His hand gripped her waist for a moment before stroking along her side and around to her back.

Aju-Lei panted heavily as he sighed and broke their kiss again. His erection throbbed mercilessly, and he wanted to bury himself in Katel repeatedly to bring them both relief. His forehead pressed against hers as he tried to bring himself under control. “I… I thought we would wait until we were in a home. Unless… unless you only want kisses?”

Katel felt him throbbing against her abdomen. What she could feel of his size alarmed her. It had been more than uncomfortable when Thonrir took her, and he wasn’t near Aju-Lei’s size.

He felt her hesitate, “What’s wrong? We can wait, I don’t want you to feel pressured about being with me.”

“I’ve never been with anyone other than Thonrir,” she breathed.

He tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear, “I’ve never been with a non-argonian before, and I’m rather nervous about it myself. If you think you’re ready we can go slow, and if either of us becomes uncomfortable, we’ll stop and give it more time.”

Katel looked into his eyes and nodded her agreement. He smiled and lowered his head to kiss her again. He let his hand slowly travel her body and paused when he felt her stiffen as his palm cradled one of her breasts. Several more kisses and nuzzles, and she relaxed as his fingers caressed the hard nub he felt under the linen of her nightgown.

Aju-Lei moaned when he felt her small hands gripping his biceps before sliding up to his shoulders. She kneaded the muscles there then cradled his head in her hands as his fingers tugged gently on her nipple before sliding down to her hip and rubbing her thigh. His fingers inched up the long gown until they encountered smooth, warm skin. His hand stroked along her bare skin and drifted up under the gown.

Katel gasped loudly as Aju-Lei’s scaled hand stroked her bare waist before closing on her breast. It felt so different from what it had when his hand touched her over the cloth barrier.

“Just relax, Katel,” he whispered to her as he kept caressing her. After a minute or two, she moaned and his hand began a downward journey as he nuzzled her neck.

He paused at the knotted length of fabric hiding the treasure he was most interested in finding. He could feel the heat of her as his fingers brushed over her before working the knot loose.

When the back of a finger touched her unclothed center Katel jerked and pushed at his shoulders.

“What’s wrong, Katel? Did you want to stop?” Aju-Lei asked and hoped the answer would be no, but if that’s what she wanted then that’s what he’d do.

“What… what are you doing? Why are you touching me there?”

“Hmm? Katel, my darling one, I have to prepare you for me. I don’t want to hurt you. I’ll make you feel good, and it will help ease my passage into your body. I’ll bring you pleasure before entering you. You’ll enjoy it. Didn’t Thonrir do this for you?”

The back of his knuckle stroked her again, and she shuddered. “No. No, he didn’t touch me except to shift up my gown and spread my legs for him.”

Aju-Lei lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “He was a bigger fool than I thought. Trust me, Katel. Relax and enjoy our mating.”

He kissed her again and as soon as she laid back onto the bedroll he stroked her again and again. He felt her growing damp against the back of his knuckle and twisted his hand around to cup her mound. He ever so slowly inserted a thick, scaled finger inside her.

She gasped and grabbed at his shoulders again when he withdrew and pushed the digit back into her. He kept the pace slow and easy. He twisted his hand more, and she almost screamed when his thumb pressed against a tiny bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs.

“Mm, that’s it. I can feel you getting ready for me, Katel,” he murmured as he pushed another finger into her and scissored her open a little wider. She was so tight around his fingers he knew she’d feel incredible around him when he finally entered her. He brushed his thumb over the tiny bundle of nerves several more times before he kissed her. Her body shook, and he swallowed the cry of completion she made as she climaxed.

He kept kissing her as he shifted enough to loosen the cord of his pants and push them down around his thighs. He panted as he rolled on top of her and let her feel him resting along her center.

She could feel him throbbing as he rubbed against her. Her own body throbbed and felt so hot. She moaned, and he nuzzled her neck before touching her again, then she felt pressure as he entered her.

The broad head of his cock stretched her open, and he groaned as her moist heat enveloped him. “By the Hist.” Inch by slow inch he sank into her. He stopped when she hissed and dug her nails into his shoulders as the pressure became too much. When she relaxed again, he withdrew and slid back into her, constantly pushing deeper until he hummed.

“Mm, hold still Katel. Try not to move yet, you feel so good and I’m too close. I want you to enjoy this part too,” he whispered into her ear as he withdrew and slid back inside. Over and over, thrusting slowly and gently, or hard and moaning his pleasure to her.

He lifted her legs to wrap around his waist, and her feet hooked together right above his tail. “Lift your hips when I thrust into you.”

He kissed her again as he thrust faster and harder. He moaned, “That’s it, love. Keep going... just like that.”

Several hard thrusts and he fully hilted in her. “You’ve taken all of me, Katel. I’m inside you. Do you like what I’m doing? Does it feel good to you?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight as he growled and thrust harder, the sound of their bodies meeting was loud in the tent. He felt her tighten around him and he moved even faster and tilted her hips just slightly to give that extra bit of friction against her clit. Several deep, hard thrusts and she muffled another scream in his shoulder. He grunted as he held himself deep inside her and spilled his hot, sticky seed.

He kissed her as he carefully withdrew from her. She gasped, and he paused. Her body still gripped at him, and he couldn’t help gently thrusting several more times before withdrawing completely.

He wrapped her in his arms as they both breathed heavily and stroked her hair. “Are you alright? Did I please you?”

She hugged him fiercely and nodded into his shoulder. He nuzzled her and held her for several more moments before he rolled away from her and stood up. After adjusting his pants he poured some heated water into their wash basin and carried it to her. He gently washed away his seed and made sure he hadn’t hurt her before lowering her gown and covering her with the wolf skin.

He cleaned himself up and lifted the tent flap just enough to pitch the dirty water out past the tent line before hurrying back to warm himself next to the brazier.

“It’s snowing again, I’ll get us more wood in the morning,” he said as he slid under the pelt and drew her up next to him.

She sighed and draped an arm over his waist and whispered she loved him. He hugged her, nuzzled the top of his head, and whispered the same back. They both fell asleep holding tightly to each other.


	12. Chapter 12

* * *

 

Aju-Lei made love to her again in the pre-dawn hours. Her moans and sighs filled the tent and mingled with his hums and grunts. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He planned to fill the cart with wood and be back before mid-day, but it was mid-morning before they finally disentangled themselves after another round of lovemaking and dressed.  
  
They ducked out of the tent and he leaned down to nuzzle her as he quietly asked if she needed anything from the apothecary to help with her soreness.  
  
She blushed a fiery red and shook her head.  
  
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He leaned down and nuzzled her again before making his way through the deep snow to the pony’s shelter.

 

* * *

 

Several months passed and everyone commented on the rise in temperature. Spring was fast approaching, and that meant another growing season and plenty of work around the local farms.  
  
Aju-Lei moaned as he felt Katel’s hands moving over his body. She had become more adventurous as they made love now. Her fingers wrapped around as much of his cock as they could and began the stroking rhythm he taught her.  
  
He hissed as his hips flexed upward and she moved to straddle him. He sighed as he watched her lower herself on him and begin a slow ride.

She did not understand there were other ways to make love, and he enjoyed teaching her as many as he knew. She would stuff the corner of her gown into her mouth to muffle her cries and moans as he took her from behind and rode her hard. He grinned each time she came and moan out for more until he couldn’t take it any longer and slammed inside her to spill.  
  
Her riding him like this was one way she enjoyed waking him up in the morning. And he enjoyed it as much as she did. His palms slid up her bare thighs and gripped her hips as she raised herself up. He tipped his head back as she lowered herself on him again. He did his best to keep eye contact with her and murmur how much he liked what she did. Eventually, his hands moved to her bare breasts and massaged them while twisting and pinching her nipples lightly. It didn’t take long for her to moan and pulse around him as she reached her peak. He flipped her over and surged into her. The slapping sound as their bodies met was almost drowned out by their soft moans. She arched her back as he pushed in deep and found his release.  
  
“What an incredible way to wake up in the morning,” he said against her neck as he thrust a few more times then withdrew from her with a sigh.

She stretched out on the bedroll. “Aye, it is.” She grinned widely as he ran his palm over her back and buttocks. She didn’t even feel ashamed or self-conscience when his hand ran down her mangled leg.

“We have to get up, Katel. I asked around yesterday when I dropped off the cartload of wood about whom to go see to purchase a home. Unfortunately, it’s the same person who we pay the taxes and fee stalls too, so we will have to go up those stairs.”

She groaned and buried her head in the crook of her arm as she thought about how much pain she would be in by the end of the day.  
  
“We’ll do the shopping on the way back to the tent. We’re getting low on a lot of things. This winter was harsher than what I expected, and we used a lot of our stocked supplies,” she said as she rolled over and struggled slightly to stand up.  
  
Katel made it up a dozen stairs before they had to stop and rest. Another dozen and Aju-Lei bent down and picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. He struggled with the last half dozen stairs then set her down on her feet. He was winded, and he leaned against the carved wood of the railing catching his breath.

“I really don’t see why they can’t have a small store in town for all this stuff,” he said as he pushed off from the railing and took Katel’s hand in his.

They stood off to the side and when the man’s assistant signaled that it was their turn to speak with him they approached. “We are interested in purchasing property in town, and would like to see the listings.”

The man frowned at them and looked Aju-Lei up and down. “We’ve nothing available for you.”

“I beg your pardon,” Katel said as she pointed to another couple dressed shabbily who had asked the same thing as they did. “Then why did you hand them a housing list to look at?”  
  
“I said we have nothing for you. Now move along before I call the guards.”  
  
“We pay our taxes, have rented an exterior stall for over a year, we support the local economy, and you tell us we can’t buy a home here because I’m an argonian?” Aju-Lei said rather loudly and several people, including guards who knew the couple, looked over at them.

“Leave now, that’s my last warning,” the man said and raised a hand to summon a guard.

The guard moved reluctantly toward them and shook his head, “It’s no use arguing with him Aju-Lei. He only cares for nords and arguing with him will only make matters worse. Come on, I’ll walk you out and help you carry Katel down all those stairs.”

“This isn’t right. We’ve been productive citizens since we came here.”

The guard sighed and nodded, “I know it isn’t, but the Jarl put him in charge of the housing and markets. There’s nothing any of us can do.” The guard picked up Katel gently in his arms and carried her halfway down the long flight of stairs before Aju-Lei took her from him and carried her the rest of the way.

“I’ll ask some other guards if they know of any place for sale outside of town. He can’t stop you from buying a home straight from someone who is selling theirs. It won’t be inside the town walls though.” The guard nodded to them before making his way back up to the Keep.

Every shop or stall they stopped to purchase their regular goods from asked why Aju-Lei was angry. None of them could believe they were told they couldn’t buy a home there. By the time they made it back to the tent city, Aju-Lei was still fuming and Katel had grown even quieter. It didn’t take long before the news spread to the others living in their small area about what happened.

 

* * *

  
  
Several weeks later a guard stopped by the tavern when he spotted Aju-Lei’s pony and cart to the side almost half-full of chopped wood.

“Aju-Lei?” the guard said and poked his head inside the woodshed.

Aju-Lei turned and looked at the guard, “Did you hear of anyone selling?”

The guard shook his head no. “There’s nothing but a handful of homes inside the wall, and no one is buying those. The sorry bastard is asking too high a price for some of the smallest places available, and most of them need repairs. They priced the larger homes so high I think even a Thane would balk at paying so many Septims for one. I’ll keep asking around.”

Aju-Lei thanked the guard and went back to stacking cut firewood.

 

* * *

 

At the end of the month, Aju-Lei and Katel were sitting outside enjoying a cool spring evening with several others from the tent city when a guard and another man approached.

Aju-Lei stood up and nodded to the guard before he recognized the assistant to the housing and stall merchant.  
  
“I think we may have a solution Aju-Lei. Just hear him out,” the guard said and the other man came closer.  
  
“I know what he did was wrong. He’s done it plenty of other times and there have been several complaints made, they have brushed aside all of them. Yesterday, I ran into an old friend from Falkreath Hold. He works for the Jarl there as a courier and does some odd jobs for several of the local craftsmen.”  
  
The man held out a sheet of parchment. “They’re building a settlement in Falkreath Hold between Falkreath and Riverwood on the lower shore of Lake Ilinalta. The river flowing from the lake goes past Riverwood, the Honningbrew Meadery, and continues clear to Darkwater Crossing. Any businesses building there will have access to the River trade route. Not to mention the overland carriages which travel between several large Holds will pass right through the town, and they’re planning a depot for the wagon trade routes between the major Holds. It’s a prime location. If you’re interested in going, go soon so you can get a good spot for a home and business before they’re taken.”

Aju-Lei took the paper and tipped it closer to the firelight to read.

“The Jarl of Falkreath does hereby grant the authority to build the settlement of Oakwood on the southern shore of Lake Ilinalta.  
  
The settlement is open to all honest, hardworking individuals who wish to run a thriving business, and settle in a peaceful environment. The town will offer trade routes overland and by river to many major areas of central Skyrim with the overland routes traveling to all major Holds.

Falkreath guards will be provided to protect the town, so feel safe knowing your family and business will be well protected from bandits and thieves.

For those interested in starting a new life in Oakwood follow the directions to the up-and-coming settlement written below.”

Katel looked at Aju-Lei and he read the paper again. “And you think they’ll let us build a home there?”

The man nodded, “Yes, I do. The Jarl doesn’t have a housing steward as this one does. You purchase a plot of land and build. They have elves, Nords, Bretons, Redguards, and others living and working around the Hold. As long as you pay your taxes and don’t cause trouble the Jarl doesn’t care what race you are.”

Aju-Lei nodded his thanks to the man and the town guard before handing the paper over to Katel. “I appreciate you bringing this to us.”

The two men nodded back and turned to leave the tent city.

Later as they got ready to sleep, Aju-Lei looked at the paper laying on the small table once more. “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure. It’s not a long way away, but still packing everything up and leaving here then going all that way only to be turned aside again. Where would we go?”

Aju-Lei blew out the lanterns and they settled down to sleep. “Would you feel comfortable with me going to check the area out alone? If they won’t accept me, at least we’d still have our spot here, and you’d still have your stall.”  
  
Katel rolled toward him and draped an arm over his waist. “How long do you think you'll be gone?”

He stroked the back of her head, “I’ll rent a horse from the stable. Maybe three or four days if everything goes all right. The paper said the person to talk to is already there so I don’t have to go clear to Falkreath. I’ll see what they have available in the main area then look around at the building plots.”

She nodded and held him tighter. “Just come back Aju-Lei.”

“I’ll be careful, Katel.”

 

* * *

 

Just before dawn, Aju-Lei made gentle love to Katel before she watched him pack food, a spare set of clothing, and the small pouch of gold they kept in the storage chest into one of their old packs. She walked with him to the edge of the tent city and stroked the side of his head and wiggled the small trinket hanging from one of his horns. “Hurry back.”

With a hug and nuzzle he said he would, then he turned and hurried down the road to the stable.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei arrived at the outskirts of where Oakwood would be. He could see building already taking place and walked the horse down the main street. The river dock ran almost the entire length of the town. They built several warehouses, the overland depot, and a large shipping office right on the pier.

He saw a sign nailed to a shack which read Contractor and Land Deeds. Beside it was a long row of shops. He saw an Inn, a trader, and a grocer. He didn’t see an apothecary or any clothier, bank, or blacksmith. Aju-Lei tied his horse to the post outside the Inn and went inside. There weren’t many people but the ones there looked up and all of them greeted him.

“Welcome to the Lake Ilinalta Inn, as you can see our town is just starting out. What can I do for you, stranger?”  
  
“Someone gave me a paper in Whiterun telling me of this town. I came to look about and see what you have here. My wife and I are looking for a place to settle down.”

“Well, that sounds fine. What type of work do you both do?” one man sitting at a nearby table asked.  
  
“I used to work the Windhelm docks, and I carve useful items which my wife sells at her stall. She makes herbal tonics and hand dyes lengths of cloth or wool to sell.”

“We can always use help on the docks, especially when the overland trade routes get added.”

The Innkeeper motioned to a table and Aju-Lei sat down. “This here fella is the one you want to talk with. He’s in charge of the buildings and land in town. Would you be wanting a room for the night? It includes meals.”

Aju-Lei nodded and slid the coins across the table when the Innkeeper told him the price.

“Well now, the town is still suffering growing pains. But we have two small store and living units available. They’ve got the street level store and stairs leading to an open area for a bed and table. They aren’t very large and if you’re planning a family, you may want to look at the plots of land. I can give you a rough map of the area, it shows what’s available and what’s bought up already.

There are a few farms right outside of town. The owners and their wives have been talking about setting up some type of market square to sell goods from. Your wife might take an interest in one. Come by in the morning and I’ll show you the two places in town. If you want to look around the area, I’ll give you the map. If you see something just stop on by the shack. If I’m not there, then I’m probably down at the docks helping to unload the building supplies.”  
  
After Aju-Lei ate, he took his horse around back to where the Innkeeper told him the stable was and got it settled, then he went to stand on the dock. He looked out over the lake before moving back toward the Inn. The sun had set hours ago and one guard moved past him while the lamplighter slid fresh candles into the street lamps lining the road in front of the stores and docks.

Maybe, he thought, this may just be the place.


	13. Chapter 13

* * *

 

 

 Aju-Lei woke to the sounds of people talking in the common room. He quickly dressed and went out.

The Innkeeper smiled and motioned to one of the few remaining seats. “Looks like we will have to be adding more tables soon,” he said as he carried over a platter of eggs and sliced meat. The bread, still warm from the oven, had a dollop of fresh butter melting on top. The man placed a mug of warm, sweet cider down and whispered that his missus didn’t like him serving mead and ale during breakfast.

Aju-Lei nodded, “My Katel, she doesn’t drink mead. She makes these delicious floral brews, especially when you add just a bit of honey to it. I bet your wife would like those and it would be something you could serve alongside the cider.”

“Hmm, maybe, maybe. If you decide to settle here, I’m sure our wives would get together often. Here comes Gunmyr now. I’ll let you eat. Did you want to rent the room for another night?”

Aju-Lei nodded and slid the ten gold Septims toward the Innkeeper who smiled and dropped them in his pouch.

 

* * *

 

Gunmyr inserted the iron key in the door to one store for sale and opened it. “This one and the one next door are identical in size and layout. Well, they all are actually. Look around.”

Aju-Lei wandered around the lower level, tested the built-in shelving unit which would hold a large number of goods, then checked the counter. More space was under it for goods which need quick access to them. He ran a hand over the surface testing its sanded smoothness. The cloth and skeins of woolen yarn Katel sold could snag easily and become ruined on a rough surface.

After he finished looking at the store area he went into a small alcove and tested the shelves there, he noticed an area which would hold several crates and barrels easily. The stairs led up into the living area. It was bare of furniture or rugs. A small stone hearth was in the corner and would lend heat to the upstairs and allow for cooking.

The only window looked out onto the street and docks.

Gunmyr was leaning against the door frame when Aju-Lei went back downstairs. “How much are you asking for this?”

“Well now, all these pre-built stores sell for 5,000 Septims. Cash up front. The price doesn’t include furnishings or the store sign. Water comes from the town well. If you have horses or other animals, you must securely stable them behind your storefront. The stable and fence is your responsibility to build and secure. Any animal running loose will incur a town fine.”

“That explains why I don’t see any dogs or chickens wandering around.”

“Aye. All animals mean all animals. So what do you think?”

Aju-Lei looked around the lower level again. “Let’s go look at the map. I promised my wife I’d look at everything and think long and hard about it before I decided. She’s trusting me with finding us what we need.”

Gunmyr grunted and smiled, “Aye. Follow me.”

Aju-Lei followed the rough outline of the map, stopping to talk to the farmers he saw along the way. When he circled back along the road, he came to a small dirt track and followed it toward the woods. When he saw the wooden markers with the red strips of cloth tied around them he stopped and checked the map. It was one of the larger tracts of land available.

Someone marked an X in one spot on the map and he almost fell over a large rock hidden in the dirt and tall grass with paint splashed on it. The map showed they had divined it for a well location. He followed the markers and saw a flat area of land and bent down; he dug up several inches of the topsoil and turned it over feeling the rich loam which would be perfect for a garden. He heard birds and saw not only a fox moving stealthily through the high grass, but several yards ahead was a hare hiding under a fallen log.

Aju-Lei stood up and continued to look around. He found a small stream running through the property and a clay pit. He grinned.

“This is the place. This will be our home,” he said to the surrounding area. He quickly rinsed his hands in the cold water of the stream and hurried to town.

Aju-Lei rattled the door handle of the shack and the door swung open. Gunmyr sat at a small table made from stacked crates and a plank top.

“Well? Did you find anything you liked better than the place in town?”

Aju-Lei nodded and spread out the map. “Here. How much is this tract of land?”

Gunmyr pulled out a small journal and flipped through several pages before he got to the one with the corresponding number on it.

“Let’s see here. Other than the farms, that particular site is our largest piece of land; fairly close to town too. You know you must dig a well and haul your building material. The local sawmill gives us a discount on the sawn logs. I… uh, don’t recommend going there to purchase straight from them. Just go to the traders and place the order there.”

“Now, all the land was divided up and priced accordingly, the town slots don’t actually come with any land itself but it is already built or will be built to suit your needs once it’s bought.”

Aju-Lei nodded and tried to wait patiently as Gunmyr rattled off more information about the land which he could already tell for himself.

“The land is listed for 8,000 Septims. If you buy it, you also must clear a lane to your property and place lamp posts along it. The Lamplighter will take care of the one on the main road but you must keep those others lit at night. The town guards will include the lane on their patrol route so it’s important you get the lane made and lights up as soon as possible.”

Aju-Lei shifted slightly and rocked on his back leg. His thick, heavy tail swung to the sides several times as he scratched at his jaw.

“I don’t carry such a large a sum with me. I do, however, have a substantial amount to put down to hold the place until I return from Whiterun where the bank there holds my funds.”

Gunmyr tipped his chair back and crossed his arms as he stared at the argonian. “Tell me why you came here instead of settling in Whiterun. You didn’t balk at the price, and you’re dressed better than most travelers coming through here. You look more at home in a large Holding than in a sleepy little town looking to work at the docks.”

Aju-Lei snorted. “My wife dyed the cloth for my tunic, and we have a working relationship with the Whiterun tailor for our clothing. People ask about our town clothes and we send them to the tailor. In exchange, we receive a discount on our things. As far as why we aren’t settling there, they said they had nothing for me.”

“No homes or land was available for sale there? That’s hard to believe.”

Aju-Lei shook his head, “I didn’t say that. I said there was nothing available for _me_ there.”

Gunmyr rubbed his jaw. “Ah. Now I see.”

The two front legs of the chair thunked on the wood plank floor of the shack as he sat forward and reached for a stack of paper and an inkwell.

“This is what I can do for you. Put at least 500 Septims down now and come back in a week’s time with the rest. I’ll hold the land for you until then. If a week goes by and you’re not back the land goes up for sale again. I’ll return your Septims to you if you’re late. We can set up a new purchase for the land or use them toward a different piece of land if it’s sold. If you don’t come back by the end of the month, you forfeit the Septims.”

Aju-Lei crossed his arms and looked at the nord for a full minute. “Deal. One thousand Septims today, and the rest within a week. I want the agreement in writing and our signatures witnessed by two others.”

The nord snorted and smiled at him, “Aye, that we can do.” Gunmyr got up, stuck his head out the door, and whistled loudly.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei left before dawn the next morning. He kept the horse at a fast trot until he made it past Riverwood then slowed down before letting the horse take a drink from the stream. Aju-Lei pulled out his copy of the document and read it over again with a smile on his face before tucking it back into the pouch. When the horse raised its head from the stream Aju-Lei started it back down the road toward Whiterun. If he didn’t run into trouble on the way he should make it to the Whiterun stables before midnight.

Aju-Lei nodded to the guard holding a torch as he entered the tent city and hurried to the back. He took a quick look inside the lean-to and the pony wuffled at him then dropped her head down to go back to sleep.

Aju-Lei scratched at the tent flap and softly called out to Katel. When he heard her moving around inside the tent, he took a step back and waited for her to raise the flap.

He hurried inside and drew her in for a kiss and hug. “I’ve missed you, Katel.”

She giggled and hugged him back. “It’s only been three days.”

“Three very long days, my love, without feeling your kiss or touch.” He barely waited for her to tie the flap shut again before he stripped her clothing off. His soon followed, and he lowered her to the bedroll.

Early the next morning he told her all about the town and how they had only a week to get the money from the bank, stock their supplies, and be back in Oakwood.

“It’s perfect, Katel. The soil is rich and fertile. We’ve got a small stream that’s cold and clear. They’ve marked the location for a well too. It will be hard work though. I have to get the shelter for the pony up and build several lamp posts as soon as I can. I also must clear the path from the main street up to the land.”

Katel frowned then nodded, “So much to do and so little time. What are the people like? What’s the town like?”

He told her all about it while they packed their belongings up and she made a list of supplies they would need. Aju-Lei shrank the tent down and placed it in the small black pack as Katel said her goodbyes to the people living in the tent city. Aju-Lei said his just before he checked the load on the small pony cart and helped Katel to climb on the back.

In town Katel quickly set about finding the items on her list as Aju-Lei spoke to several of their friends and a few of the guards then started up the long flight of stairs.

The housing and merchant broker snorted when he saw the red argonian walking toward him. “I already told you we have nothing for one of your kind here.”

“I’m not here for that. I’m here to turn in the merchant pass, and to collect a refund on the rest of the year’s stall payment and pre-taxes you charged us. I want the funds immediately and in gold.”

“Now see here...”

Aju-Lei’s voice raised in volume and drew the attention of several people loitering about the area, including several guards.

“No, you see here. As per the agreement we signed, it states clearly: refunds for any unused time on the stall permit will be refunded timely. And as far as keeping our tax money, it also says any refund due will be paid promptly. Now I’m here to collect what the Hold owes me or I’m well within my rights to have you charged with theft.” Aju-Lei raised his hand, just as the man had done when Aju-Lei was there to ask for a housing list. He waved his hand and signaled a guard.

The same guard smirked as he hurried over to stand next to Aju-Lei and crossed his arms. “We will not have any trouble here are we, Administrator? The laws are the laws.”

The man snarled as he opened a drawer and drew out a ledger. He flipped through it until he found the right entry.

A large drop of ink fell onto the paper as the man’s hand shook when he saw the amount they would take from the coffers and how much income the hold would lose from this couple.

“You’re wasting my time and it’s valuable,” Aju-Lei snarled as the man removed another sheet of paper and filled it out before signing it.

“Take this to the bank and give it to the merchant. Now get out of here.”

Aju-Lei stood there and slowly read the document over before carefully folding it and tucking it into his hip pouch. “And just think, if you wouldn’t be such a bigot all those Septims would have kept rolling in and staying within the hold. Now my wife and I will no longer provide not only the income but our unique wares.” He turned away from the man and walked toward the doors out of the keep.

The shop assistant finished loading the baskets of vegetables and dried meat into the back of the cart for Katel just as Aju-Lei stepped out of the bank.

“They did not like hearing the reason I was withdrawing all our funds. They tried to get me to leave it in their bank and just come in to withdraw what I need. I laughed and told them because of the Administrator refusing to allow an argonian to live in the town we would no longer be doing business in Whiterun; which included the bank. Then I insisted they give me every single copper Septim of our money.”

He nuzzled her hair and whispered they would need to stop somewhere and hide the money inside their storage crate before someone sees the pouch and thinks to rob them.

Katel nodded, “I’ve got to go into the apothecary and fill this list, it would be a good spot. She’s got a small room off to the side and it shouldn’t take you but a minute or two.”

When they walked out, he took Katel by the hand and guided her around several buildings until they reached a giant statue of Mara. “I know we’re supposed to go to Riften to be officially married in the eyes of Mara and man, but we don’t have that kind of time. I was hoping you’d agree to be my wife in truth, and we could say our vows in front of this statue. I think she’d hear us. In my heart, we would be just as married if we would have traveled all the way there.”

Katel smiled and nodded as they joined hands.

Aju-Lei cleared his throat and said, “We gather here today, under Mara’s loving gaze, to unite our two souls in eternal companionship. May we journey forth together in this life and the next, in prosperity and poverty, and in joy and hardship. Do you agree to be bound together, in love, now and forever?”

Katel nodded, “I do, now and forever.” Then she said, “Do you agree to be bound together, in love, now and forever?”

Aju-Lei eagerly nodded, “I do, now and forever.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently. When they separated Aju-Lei gave a startled jump as a Priest of Arkay smiled at them and nodded.

“Quite lovely,” he said and walked past them as he headed for the Hall of the Dead.

Their last stop was the stable. Lillith hugged them both as the stable master checked the pony’s feet and loaded three more flakes of hay into the back of the wagon. It was early afternoon before they began the journey to their new home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. These next few chapters will span a number of years so will be told in snapchat form showing snippets of their lives in their new home. I hope you enjoy them.

* * *

 

Three days later Aju-Lei guided the pony and cart down the main street of Oakwood and toward the small shack. Katel sat in the wagon's back with her legs hanging off the edge and tried to look all around her. She saw the various buildings and a few riverboats docked against the pier. Several people waved at them and she returned their wave.

When the wagon stopped, Aju-Lei hurried to the back and helped Katel off the cart. He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible when he tested the ropes tying everything down. He slipped the leather pouch of coins from beneath several folded wolf skins and tucked it under Katel’s light wrap. She hugged the bag close to her as he straightened the brilliant blue cloth.

“Well, that was fast. This must be your wife.”

Aju-Lei and Katel turned toward the man who spoke to them and Aju-Lei smiled. “It is. Gunmyr this is my wife, Katel. Gunmyr is in charge of building the town and sale of the outlying plots of land. He’s also the dock foreman.”

“Aye, though there’s not a lot of dock work right now. It will pick up soon though. In the meantime we have business to take care of, do we not?”

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei led the pony up the narrow dirt track toward their plot of land. “Do you see the red piece of cloth, Katel?”

She leaned over the side of the wagon and nodded.

“That’s the beginning of our land. We’ve got one of the largest plots in Oakwood, other than the two farms. Starting tomorrow I’ll clear the land and build a pole fence. I’ll need for you to go to the traders and purchase several candle lanterns and a dozen or so candles until we can make some.”

They spent the rest of the day setting up their tent and Aju-Lei showing her where the well marker and stream were. They went into town and ate at the Inn where all the residents introduced themselves. That night Aju-Lei barely got their tent secured before Katel jumped on him and dragged him down to the floor.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei began chopping the first large pine tree right after breakfast. A few hours later Katel made her way to town and passed several of the men heading up the dirt track carrying woodcutting tools.

“Good day to you. We heard there was a new couple in town. This is my brother Endoy and I’m Jinry. We own the dairy farm in town. We came by to see if your husband would like help today. We worked together to clear our land and we know it is not a simple task, especially for a lone person.”

Katel smiled at the Redguard males and nodded, “I’m Katel and my husband is Aju-Lei. We sure could use the help. I’m not able to do much of the labor, and he works so hard, we would appreciate anything you could help with.”

The two men nodded, “Our wives are at the traders. Until they can get something set up as a market area that’s where they sell our goods.” They nodded their farewells to her and continued up the path as she hobbled toward town.

Katel had to stop several times and rub her leg but she finally made it to the main street. People called out greetings as they walked past or from the dock area.

When she entered the traders, the first thing she smelled was lamp oil and warm wax. She looked around at the orderly mess of goods. They seemed to carry everything from candles to water skins to horse tack. She spied several tools hanging from the ceiling.

Behind two Redguard women was a shelving unit containing rows of jam-filled jars, wheels of cheese, round loaves of bread, bundles of white candles, and cakes of soap in baskets.

The women waved and Katel limped her way around barrels of apples, and sacks of flour and salt to join them.

“You must be the new owners of the large plot on the other side of town. I’m Chana, wife to Endoy. This is Tielra wife to Jinry, and the baby is their daughter Senta.”

Katel introduced herself and told them she had met their husbands on the road. “I’m thankful your husbands want to help Aju-Lei.”

Chana snorted, “Do not let them fool you. They will help, but it was because today is market day and they did not want to have to sit here. You and your husband gave them the perfect excuse to run off and leave us. But do not worry, it is better than to have to sit and listen to them whine about being bored.”

Tielra nodded and giggled. “Plus, we do not have to listen to them complain about what we buy.”

Katel smiled at them and they told her about their dairy farm.

“What is it you will do?”

“Aju-Lei carves items from gourds, and I dye fabrics, wool thread, skeins of yarn.”

“Oh, is the wrap you’re wearing made from some cloth you dyed?”

Katel nodded at Tielra and told them how she used to have her own stall in the exterior Whiterun markets. She told them her items were all popular, and she hoped they would be just as popular here and on their trade routes.

“Yes, we are hoping so as well with our dairy goods. We are trying to figure out where to set up a market area for our stalls but have come up empty. One end of town is too far for us, and the other end of the town is too close to the shipping docks and warehouses. Gunmyr thinks it would be a bad location because of the workers there needing the room to offload the wagons and coaches along with loading goods on them.”

Katel shifted on the hard wooden chair, “It would be nice if they got one of the way stations for the transport wagons here. Then we could set up near it so the people could shop while the driver changes horses.”

“That’s a good idea. I don’t know if they are planning one but it would be a good thing to bring up. A new waystation between Falkreath and Whiterun.”

Katel told them she needed to purchase several items and hoped to talk to them again soon. The owner of the trading store helped her with several large, sturdy lanterns. She bought two dozen white candles, several loaves of herb bread, two wheels of goat cheese, and a small sealed jar of fresh goat's milk from the ladies. “My son will bring this to you by the end of the day,” the trader told her.

Katel stopped in the grocer next to the traders and asked about their produce. “It all comes from the two farms or from our hunters and fisherfolk,” the older man said. His one good eye focused on Katel and the way she limped around his store looking at items. She bought several prepared hares before leaving and beginning her long walk back to the tent.

 

* * *

 

It took Aju-Lei two months to clear the area he wanted for the stable. He groaned as he collapsed on the bedroll.

“I have to go to Riverwood for straw tomorrow so I can start building the stable. I’m not sure how long I’ll be.”

Katel rubbed his sore muscles, and he sighed out loud from the relief he felt. “I have a letter for Hrefran if you wouldn’t mind posting it. I’ll make another batch of candles in the morning too. It’s too late to put in crops for this year, but we should till the soil and mark the garden off. The well still needs to be dug.”

He groaned again and buried his head in the crook of his arm.

 

* * *

 

Katel stirred the dying mixture for the stack of cloth she received as she watched Aju-Lei work at building the stable. First, he made large rectangular molds from some wood he cut, then he gathered barrels of clay, spent a week gathering the cattails which grew all along the lake, and finally, he brought several barrels up from the docks. When she looked inside sand filled them to the brim.

She watched him make a gooey mixture of the stuff then pack it into the wooden molds. She gasped when he flicked a glob of the stuff at her and it hit her apron, leaving a brown mark on it before dropping to the ground.

What started out as making clay biscuits turned into a mud ball fight. They both laughed and cleaned off the mess before she helped him mix more of it up. By the end of the week, he had close to two hundred biscuits laying on burlap sacks drying in the early summer sun.

Katel woke to the sound of hammering again and she sighed. He was up before dawn making more wooden molds for the biscuits, this time he was making them ahead of time for their home. She shook her head when he told her he would probably need thousands of them.

He made thin beams from the trees he cut. While one of the other men held it upright, Aju-Lei would drive the nails into the frame. The men all wondered what exactly Aju-Lei was doing since the stable he was building wasn’t the regular rectangular or a square one with poles lashed together to form a shelter, instead, it seemed to be round. Hardly a day went by when one or more of the townsmen would show up to look at the construction or help out.

“This isn’t just a stable, but a home for the pony,” he said with a grin. They shook their heads when he soaked thin strips of wood and bent them slowly as if he was making bows instead of the roofing frame for the stable.

Every morning would start the same, remove the biscuits from the molds left overnight and lay them out to dry in the sun, then mix and make more. Then he’d stack the dry ones under a lean-to.

Summer was almost at a close when Aju-Lei built the stable. She watched as he layered several feet of river stones to build a foundation before adding the biscuits along the marked off section he made, then he filled any gaps with more of the clay and straw mixture. When he had completed the stone and biscuit foundation, several of the men helped him lift the lightweight frame he made and move it into position. Then he layered more biscuits around the frame, leaving the marked opening for the doors and the window clear. By the end of the day, they filled the frame in with the biscuits and clay mixture. The only thing left to do was to make the roof and finish the outside.

By the end of the following day, he finished the stable. The thatched roof was in place and Aju-Lei was busy applying a thick layer of plastering to the outside to protect the building from the rain and snow.

Katel walked inside the stable and marveled for a structure which looked rather small from the outside there was a lot of room on the inside. Aju-Lei stood on top of a log shelving area built against one wall and used a rope and pulley system to lift the flakes of hay and store them on the shelf.

“Four flakes per shelf. So we can stock twelve for her. It will last all winter,” Aju-Lei called down to Katel.

“This place is incredible,” she said and Aju-Lei laughed.

“This is just like what our home will be, only larger. This is how we make our 'primitive mud huts’ as the Dunmer call them. It rarely takes this long to build them though, it’s rough with only me making the mix and biscuits. In Shadowfen everyone comes out and brings their tools and they can make a thousand or more biscuits in a day. We also don’t thatch the roofs just use more biscuits and clay. But with the heavy snow Skyrim gets, thatching is the way to go.”

He climbed down from the ladder and pulled her into his arms. “It won’t be until spring before I can start building our home and shop. I have to build the fences and make sure they are secure against predators and keep the pony from wandering off.”

They got the pony settled in her new home, and with a flick of her tail and stamping of her foot, she ran a circuit around the inside before trotting over and eating hay from the half barrel against the wall. Aju-Lei secured the window and door of the stable for the night and tugged Katel toward their tent with a look of mischief in his eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

 

 

Throughout the wet fall and snowy winter, Aju-Lei worked to build the fence around his property, and also down at the docks loading or off-loading crates. Riverboats were coming more often and the first of the overland wagons arrived to offload their cargo to send down the river.

Katel in the meantime spent her time with the other women of the town. They made an enormous amount of candles, soaps, pickled vegetables, and dried meats and fish. She received several letters from Hrefran with small recipes for tonics and salves she could make. Her products would fly off the shelves as more and more people moved to the town or passed through heading to Whiterun or Falkreath.

Orders for spring deliveries of dyed wool, cotton, flax cloth, and yarns were mounting, and she quickly learned to separate and label each store’s needs and wants into crates with the order date written on the parchment inside.

Aju-Lei kept adding more biscuits to the dried pile but in much smaller quantities. He kept careful track of how many he had and checked them daily to make sure they were staying dry inside the lean-to.

The weather warmed up and Aju-Lei hired several men to help him dig the well. It took two weeks of using the large auger they built in the yard from sun up to sun down. The day finally came when a metal-fitter finished the special metal pipes along the well’s walls. Two more surrounded the opening with stacked river stones and finished it with a metal filter covering all but the hole for the bucket. Aju-Lei added a small wooden frame and winch over the top and tested it several times before pronouncing the well ready.

 

* * *

 

The women finally decided where they wanted a market square and all the men gathered after they finished their normal daily work. The men built six large, covered stalls and hung striped tarpaulins over each to create a shaded area that would also protect from any sudden rain.

The women threw the men a thank you party at the end the night. They had outdone themselves with fresh bread and creamy butter, soups, stews, roasted venison, and vegetables. The men groaned and held their stomachs as the women brought out desserts of fresh fruit pies, crostadas, and sweet rolls.

The town constantly grew and soon became a trade route hub. The people became a tight-knit community who helped each other when the need arose.

By the end of their second summer there, Aju-Lei built a small, round building near the lane and had plastered it with a mixture which turned it white. He surprised her by painting a variety of plants and argonian symbols all around it.

When he opened the heavy wooden door, she stepped in and gasped with delight at the shelving system behind a smoothly sanded counter, and a row of neatly stacked crates and barrels all labeled with the goods she sold. Suspended wooden poles hung from the roof where herbs and bundles of flowers were drying. The brazier they used during the winter months in their tent was near one wall next to a crate of firewood ready to ward off the chill.

Behind the counter and tucked between the crates and shelves stood her portable alchemy table. Aju-Lei built a small shelf to sit above it to hold the journal she made containing all the recipes from Hrefran.

Aju-Lei grunted then groaned as Katel kissed him senseless and show him how much she appreciated his hard work. It was several hours later when they stumbled from inside the building with giant grins on their faces. Aju-Lei hung the small sign he made for her up and pronounced her shop open for business.

A week later he began laying the foundation for their home.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei stood on a rickety ladder and wiggled a wooden arrow with Katel’s shop name into the slot on the street sign.

“Aju-Lei, we got word from the Jarl of Falkreath, he’s agreed to let us set up a travel waystation. We’ve decided to build it near the market since it was the women’s idea. Let Katel know. Also, her shipment of cloth, glass bottles, and other stuff arrived.”

Aju-Lei waved to let the man know he heard him before giving one more whack with the mallet and making sure the arrow was securely in place.

“Any news of my order?” he asked.

“It’s up at the trader’s store now. We’re expecting numerous boats coming in over the next few days along with two overland wagons. We could use your help on the docks.”

Aju-Lei nodded, “I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Thanks for bringing me the news.”

 

* * *

 

Katel was behind her store attending the herb garden when she heard Aju-Lei calling her name.

She gasped when she came around the corner and saw him hanging a large, round, metal and stained glass lantern from the overhang of her shop’s entrance. The rainbow glass caught the sun’s light, and she saw the apothecary symbol worked into the metal of the lantern.

“The shop had to have an outdoor lamp,” he said as he inserted three thick, white candles into the lantern and latched the tiny door closed.

“You spoil me terribly, Aju-Lei,” Katel said.

“You’re worth spoiling. We can afford to splurge for these small touches. We are financially secure, your shop is doing well, I’m working at the docks and being paid for each ship I unload instead of making only a pittance per day. Our garden is flourishing and the gourd patch is coming along nicely. Those gourds will make great bowls, containers, and decorations to sell next spring.”

“I love you, Aju-Lei,” she said as she hugged him then turned to look at her lantern that reflected a rainbow of colors from the sun onto her doorway and the path leading up to their little shop.


	16. Chapter 16

* * *

 

 

Aju-Lei finished building their large double domed home at the end of the following spring. The larger dome comprised their living area and kitchen. He built a small stairway leading up to the second floor of the larger dome which he told her was a storage area. The smaller one made up their bedroom and bathing chamber.

He took his time building clay and straw designs on the outside of the home. Large thick branches swirled around the walls and he embedded several pieces of colored glass into the design which reflected the light. The whole town had stopped by at one time or another to see the home as he built it; it was easily twice the size of the other homes in town. When they had asked about the design, he simply told them it was in deference to the Hist which gave all argonians their lives and souls.

Wagon loads of furniture arrived shortly after and some townsmen and their wives stayed to help with the unpacking.

The last of the furniture to arrive was the bedroom items Aju-Lei ordered for them. The bed was made of heavy, sanded birch with a carved headboard depicting a forest scene with thick ropes stretched across the base to help support the mattress. The women spent all morning stuffing the mattress ticking with fresh straw, sweet-smelling tundra cotton, and thyme herbs. They shoved the dresser and two wardrobes into place, and the thick rugs laid down before the others left.

Later that night Aju-Lei set up several dividing screens, dragged in a washstand with a painted ceramic bowl, a small brazier with a large copper pot, and finally a brand new copper wash tub behind them.

It wasn’t until midafternoon before the two of them left the bed, replete and happy.

 

* * *

 

The weather was crisp with a slight chill in the air signaling the start of fall weather. It was market day and all the women gathered to spread their wares out for sale. The transport wagon from Markarth to Whiterun was due any time, and they usually sold all their goods on those days.

Aju-Lei nuzzled Katel and told her he would be back to help stow away anything she didn’t sell then joined several of the men for a day of hunting.

Several hours later Aju-Lei came running as fast as he could toward the market square. “Katel you need to come to the house and hurry, there’s been an accident.”

Then he called to Chana to come as well, a wolf hurt her husband. Tielra waved at them and told them she would take care of packing their goods then meet them at Katel’s house.

Endoy lay on a pallet of furs and hides in front of the stone and clay biscuit fireplace. His normally swarthy skin tone was ashen, and his breathing shallow.

Aju-Lei told her they were hunting wolves and didn’t see one of the pack off to the side. As the others rendered the meats and skins from the downed wolves, the lone wolf came up behind Endoy and attacked.

Katel hissed and with some help knelt down next to Endoy and cut away the remains of his shirt. She started rattling off the items she would need and Aju-Lei raced around getting them while one of the others tried to console a wailing Chana.

Katel yelled at the other woman to snap out of it. When the Redguard finally ceased her crying Katel explained what she was doing.

“This salve will ward off infection. You must carefully wash the area with a mixture of herbs soaked in hot water twice a day, then spread this salve over the wounds. You must be careful not to rip the stitches. Dose him with my fever tonic three times a day, preferably with a warm broth until he regains his strength. We can’t move him for at least two days so you must stay here with him.”

Chana nodded, and the men left to take care of their own business. Tielra showed up several minutes later and held Chana, who started crying again, in her arms.

Three days later Aju-Lei and Jinry moved a now conscience and complaining Endoy into the back of the pony cart and made their way to the Redguard brother’s dairy farm. Chana and Tielra and their children followed behind the cart carrying large baskets loaded with herb sachets and jars of salve.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei hitched up the pony cart and headed to the dairy farm to pick up hay flakes instead of going all the way to Riverwood.

“Katel? Katel, come out here for a minute,” Aju-Lei called and Katel finished dusting off her shelf of cough tonics then went to see what he wanted.

She squealed with delight at the small white goat tied to the wagon and the dozen chickens in small cages sitting in the back.

“The animals are a gift from Endoy and Chana. The goat is young but already a good producer. We can have our own fresh butter, cheese, milk, and eggs now.”

Aju-Lei built a chicken coop in the small meadow he had fenced off for the pony while Katel petted their goat and tied a bright red ribbon with a tiny bell on it around its neck. The young goat suffered through the hugs and petting as it watched the goings on around it while chewing a large mouthful of meadow grass.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei stocked the strange looking, brightly painted gourds on a table inside their shop while Katel mixed several bottles of tonics. She whirled around when the bell tinkled above the shop door when someone opened it.

Katel gasped and cried as she moved to where the old woman stood with her arms open for her.

“Hrefran,” she cried as she hugged the woman tighter. Aju-Lei straightened up and watched the old woman’s eyes begin to water as she held tightly to Katel.

“Let me look at you, child,” Hrefran said as she held Katel out further to get a good look. “My, you look healthy and happy, Katel. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking this well.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before, Hrefran. These past few years since leaving Windhelm I’ve gotten much stronger,” Katel said and hugged her again.

“That is wonderful to hear, child. I was so worried about you. Why did you go running off in the middle of the night for, anyway?”

Katel shook her head and frowned, “It wasn’t my idea. Thonrir thought it was better than waiting and hoping his parents and you wouldn’t keep us in the village.”

Hrefran snorted. “Just as I thought. Why didn’t you write and tell me where you were when you didn’t receive an answer from me after Thonrir died? You’ve been vague in your correspondence with me about so many things.”

Katel took a few steps back and looked down at the floor. “When I didn’t hear from you I thought you didn’t care about me. I didn’t want to be a burden. I was ashamed at what I had to do to survive; until I met Aju-Lei, and we fled Windhelm together. He’s the reason I’m still alive, healthy, happy, and why we have a store and a home.”

“Aju-Lei? You never mentioned him in your letters.”

Katel blushed and looked over to the other side of the shop where Aju-Lei stood leaning against a small barrel and wood plank table. He frowned at her and she twisted her fingers together.

“This is Aju-Lei, my husband,” Katel said and held out her hand to him. He slowly approached her and took her hand in his.

“You’ve remarried? And to an argonian?”

Katel nodded. “Yes. He saved my life and protected me many times. We love each other Hrefran. He built our home himself, our store, cleared the land. He takes care of me. I’ve never felt like this before.”

“We take care of each other, Katel. We have since the moment we left Windhelm and will continue to do so until the Hist calls our souls home.”

Katel smiled up at him as he gently stroked her hair.

“Hmm. I see. Well, if that’s the case then I’m happy for you both. I just didn’t want to see Katel being taken advantage of or fooled by a handsome face again.”

Katel blushed. “I think it’s the other way around. Aju-Lei does all the hard work and I run a shop.”

Aju-Lei chuckled. “Why don’t you take your guest up to the house. I’ll finish stocking everything then lock up. I need to make a quick run down to the docks and check the scheduled routes to see if they will need my help in the morning. I’ll pick up the supplies you asked for, then come straight back.”

“Alright. Don’t forget the wood box is getting low, and the weather has been cooler in the mornings.”

Aju-Lei grunted before he nuzzled her and moved back over to the table full of gourd bowls, water bottles, birdhouses, and large round decorative gourd containers.

 

* * *

 

Hrefran looked around as they moved up the cleared dirt path. Aju-Lei always removed any rocks which became uncovered by the rains from the path so she wouldn’t stumble on them.

Katel pointed out the large round stable in the distance with the sound of a goat bleating and the cackling of chickens coming from it.

When they sat at the dining table Hrefran still gazed around with a look of awe in her eyes. “He built this himself?”

“Yes. He made the clay biscuits, hauled up all the river stones, cut the wooden beams all by himself. We had help with creating the frame and putting it in place. But he laid the foundation and everything else. It took two years of hard work to clear the land and to begin building it. Two years of working from before dawn to well after dusk here on the property and also helping out at the docks. Rain, snow, or sunshine he worked every day. He took almost six months alone to build our home once he had enough biscuits made. Another month of making the outside decoration, plastering it over, and thatching the roofs. He also built the stable and store.”

She took several sips of the hot tea, “He also helps with the store, and the garden, does all the heavy work, cuts all the wood. He works himself to the bone. When we left Windhelm he was determined to make us enough Septims to do more than just barely survive. There he made eight Septims a day working dawn to dusk unloading cargo from boats. When we left he started cutting wood for Inns and mills along the way. He made more in a day than he had in over a week there. He cut so much wood his hands were raw, bloody, and covered with blisters.”

“Your letters from Whiterun hinted at settling there. Why did you move to a village instead of staying in a large city?”

Katel looked up at Hrefran before pouring her another cup of hot tea. “They wouldn’t let us buy a home there because of Aju-Lei being an argonian. Taking our money in taxes and charging us a stall fee was fine. Letting us buy goods from other stalls and spending our money there was fine. But to sell a home for an argonian to live there, it was too much for the Jarl’s housing administrator. They told us about this settlement and came here shortly after they started to build it. It was the best thing we could have done.”

They grew quiet and finally, Katel asked the question which had been on her mind since Hrefran showed up in her shop. “Why did you come clear to Oakwood, Hrefran? It’s a long journey and you’ll be away from your shop for months.”

Hrefran snorted. “Thonrir’s parents petitioned the Jarl of Windhelm for the benefits of their deceased son. Apparently, he had written to them some time during the couple of months after he enlisted. When their letter was returned they started to blame it on you. Saying not only did you talk their son into joining and gotten him killed, but stole the stipend due to them for the loss of their son.

I had enough and told them not only was it Thonrir who talked you into running away, but it was his doing which got him killed. You wouldn’t have wanted him to join the rebellion and you certainly wouldn’t have stolen anything. I told them the Jarl lied to Thonrir, and when you confronted the Jarl about it you were imprisoned. They should be thankful the Jarl hadn’t sent people to do the same thing to them.

When I asked them why they never told me you sent a message to me in the letter you wrote to them, they said they weren’t couriers and why should they help the woman who killed their only son.

I finally had enough and put my shop up for sale. Someone bought it only a month ago. As soon as they signed the papers, and I received my Septims, I packed up the few belongings I didn’t want to leave behind and purchased fare to Oakwood. If you wouldn’t have room for me at your shop, then I had planned to purchase a small store and living space in town and open an herbalist shop to compliment your apothecary business. I didn’t know you had a home and shop outside of town until the man running the trader's store told me.”

Katel blushed, “We used to have a stall in town at the market area. We only use it now on Market days when the traveling wagons come in. It’s only open from spring until the first snowfall of winter then we use the trader’s store. All the storefronts near the town center are already sold, but they are planning on expanding another road a bit past the dairy farm. It’s too far to walk to have a shop in town though.”

Katel chewed on her bottom lip then got up and made her way to the pie safe Aju-Lei had surprised her with for her birthday. She took out an apple pie and sliced two generous portions for them.

“When Aju-Lei gets back, I’ll ask him if he knows of a small store or home with maybe with a bit of work we could convert for you. You can share our stall with us on Market days.” She smiled at Hrefran when the older woman groaned as she took her first bite of pie.

“If you tell me he baked this pie, I must see if he can find me an argonian husband just like him,” Hrefran said as she took another bit of the spiced apple pie.

Katel laughed. “Cooking is the one thing he can’t do. The pie comes from the Innkeeper’s wife. She bakes them every Middas. Fruit and vegetable pies mostly. She also makes wonderful meat pies. They aren’t expensive either. All the ingredients are grown, produced, or hunted for by the locals.”

As they waited for Aju-Lei to return Katel showed Hrefran some of the wares they sold at the market and in the store.

The sun was setting as Katel heard the clip-clop of the pony’s hooves and the creak of their small cart outside their door. Katel opened the door and Aju-Lei struggled with getting a large wooden trunk inside. He groaned as he tried to stand up and rubbed at his lower back.

“By the Hist, what do you have in there?” He hissed then sighed with relief as Katel kneaded his muscles.

Aju-Lei finished unloading the supplies and took care of the horse as Katel made them dinner.

“Aju-Lei? Hrefran is moving to Oakwood, do you know of any small houses or shops close to town for sale?”

Aju-Lei put his teacup down and rubbed his jaw. “Nothing close to town. They’re selling plots between here and Riverwood. A few others stretch back toward the mountain. I’d steer clear of the ones they’re planning on building closer to the sawmill. The negotiations with the owner are… tricky, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable having Katel or you anywhere near there.”

Katel’s shoulders slumped. “So there isn’t anything at all?”

Aju-Lei shook his head. “The town has grown faster than anyone could have predicted. Gunmyr said they are expanding as quickly as possible but all the prime building slots are already taken. Does it have to be a shop? Maybe we can see if Gunmyr has a small area we can put up a home for you.”

“I was hoping to add-on to Katel’s apothecary by growing herbs to sell with her. When I came here, I didn’t know about your marriage. I thought she lived in town.”

“Ah. That explains why the dockworkers didn’t know whether to send your trunk to the Inn or to the house. Let me think about it more. I’ll ask around to see what I can find out for you. In the meantime, you’re more than welcome to stay here with us. I can go down to the carpenters in the morning to buy a small bed frame and the Trade Store always has mattress ticking for sale. It won’t take but a few minutes to set up our old tent for us so you can use the bed.”

Katel smiled at him as he stood up. He gave a quick nuzzle to her neck before he went up to their storage area and rooted around for the camping pack.


	17. Chapter 17

* * *

 

 

A week passed as Aju-Lei went to look at all the available spots between Riverwood and Oakwood, he sighed as he viewed the last one and saw no water source or even level land to build on. They would have to not only cart water to create the bricks, but figure out a way to supply plenty for Hrefran to consume and cook with until he could hire someone to dig a well.

He returned home later in the evening and sat at the kitchen table as Hrefran and Katel fixed dinner.

“I checked every one of the building lots and none of them would be suitable for building without an incredible amount of work. It would take me at least a year, maybe even two to clear, level, and dig a well, and that’s even before we begin to build the house.”

“What about heading toward the mill? I know you said you wouldn’t feel comfortable, but it couldn’t be that bad. Could it?”

Aju-Lei lowered the mug of tea and sat it on the highly polished wooden table. “Absolutely not, Katel. I want you both to stay far away from the area going toward the mill.”

Katel turned toward him with the stew spoon in her hand dripping beef gravy on to the flat cooking surface of the special oven he ordered for her. “Why not? You never told us why it was so important we don’t go near there.”

Aju-Lei sighed. “The mill owners are vampires. Oakwood has an agreement with them to purchase all the milled lumber for building the town and businesses with them in exchange for protection and safety from not only themselves but ones of their clan. I don’t fully trust them not to try to get away with skirting the agreement if someone goes wandering around there. Gunmyr sent out notices to every family living in town and has it posted on the welcome board to not wander at night as there are ‘wild creatures’ roaming the outskirts of town, and he and the guards can’t guarantee your safety if the notices are disregarded. I don’t want either of you going north of the town proper, it’s just not safe.”

Katel nodded shakily and turned back to the pot.

“Vampires? In this hold?” Hrefran asked as she sliced vegetables to add to the stew pot.

“Yes, and they’ve been here far longer than the town has. From what Gunmyr told us the Jarl of Falkreath made the deal and so far they’ve kept to it. We’ve had no townspeople attacked, but we don’t know if any visitors or travelers passing through at night have been.”

“Humph, maybe I should reconsider staying here. Vampires.”

Katel looked over at the old lady. Hrefran suddenly grinned, “I guess we should double the amount of garlic we planned on planting tomorrow.”

Katel laughed as Hrefran reached up and pulled a garlic bulb off the braid hanging from the herb pole.

Aju-Lei sat and watched them for a while then a plan formed. He’d have to do some measuring and plotting before voicing his thoughts to the women. For now, he’d just sit and watch them and show his thanks to Hrefran for helping to make his Katel happy.

 

* * *

 

Early the next morning Aju-Lei slipped out of their bed and hurried outside before the sun fully rose. He stopped long enough to put out the candles in the lanterns hanging from the lampposts before hurrying around the back of the apothecary store.

Katel didn’t see Aju-Lei all morning but heard the sound of an axe nearby. She and Hrefran planted the last of the crops they would overwinter as she caught her first sight of him coming out of the woods behind the shop with a thick piece of wood balanced on his shoulder.

“My, oh, my. Child, if I was fifty years younger I’d run off to Black Marsh to find me a man like yours,” Hrefran said to Katel as she watched the play of the argonian’s muscles in his arms and bare chest when he lowered the chunk of wood next to the splitting block.

Katel’s cheeks turned as red as Aju-Lei’s scales as the old woman cackled at her. Katel couldn’t help but chuckle when her husband turned to look at them and tipped his head to the side before shaking it and going back to chopping wood.

 

* * *

 

Over dinner, he proposed the plan he had come up with. “A short distance in the woods behind the shop is a level area with hard ground good for building on. What if I built you a small dome house there? You could share the garden space, supply Katel with the herbs and other things for the tonics, we won’t have to dig another well, and you can continue to eat and spend time with us.

The house wouldn’t need to be large. I was thinking something similar to the stable, only a bit smaller. A few dividers to separate your bedroom area, an outhouse built nearby, a large water barrel I can keep filled for you, and a fireplace for winter. If the weather gets terrible, you can stay here with us so you wouldn’t have to try to trudge through the snow.”

Hrefran looked at both him and Katel, “You’d build me a house?”

“Sure. It will be plain though, nothing fancy. Smooth exterior, which I’ll waterproof, and a thatched roof. Small but cozy and will retain the heat during the winter, and I’ll add a glass-pane window so you can have fresh air when you want it.

It’ll take me a bit of time to get it built along with the paths to the shop and house laid out. A few more lanterns and posts placed near it and then we can get furniture. That is if you wouldn’t mind living here with us.”

Hrefran took her time thinking the proposition over before she nodded her agreement. Katel threw her arms around Aju-Lei’s neck and kissed him senseless until Hrefran’s dry laugh reminded them she was still in the room.

The rest of fall and winter passed while Aju-Lei remained busy cutting down trees to clear the space for the new house, making the biscuits, and helping to unload freight.

 

* * *

 

A courier arrived the first week of spring and handed her several pouches before hurrying from the store.

Hrefran looked up from where she was grinding potion ingredients at the alchemy table. “What did he want?”

Katel turned toward her with the pouches in her hand. “It’s the Septims from the sale of the cloth I sent to the various holds along with additional orders. I will need to make a list and walk to town so I can send the local courier to the farms for their wool and to Falkreath’s cloth supplier.”

Hrefran nodded as she poured the mixture into a piece of the alchemy equipment and waited for it to finish brewing so she could pour it into a bottle and cap it.

“I should place my orders for the furniture and anything else I might need so I’ll come along. Aju-Lei said he’ll be starting to build the house in a few days.”

Katel hitched the pony to a small spring wagon Aju-Lei purchased from the Wainwright. Katel was glad to see the pony had grown over the past few years and could pull the specially built wagon with ease. Katel still grinned whenever she saw the strange-looking, painted wagon with the four oversize wheels, open bed, and tiny front seat. He had them build a small folding step ladder on the side so she could get in and out of the wagon herself with little trouble. After she checked the harness one more time, she ran her hand along the side of the wagon where Aju-Lei had lovingly painted the name of her shop.

Both of the women squeezed onto the small bench seat and Katel clicked her tongue at the pony to get the wagon moving toward town.

While Katel took care of her business with the Falkreath Courier and Banking Service representative, Hrefran did her shopping. The grocer and trader’s son loaded their purchases on the back of her small wagon as someone called out Katel’s name.

Gunmyr waved to them and hurried across the street. “Katel, I’m glad you’re in town so I wouldn’t have to run clear to your farm. Aju-Lei’s order for the home he’s building is in, it’s down at the dock. Tell one of the workers there to load it for you. Also, be on the lookout for anything suspicious, we’ve had some thefts lately.”

“Thefts? No one’s been robbed here before. Are you sure?”

Gunmyr nodded, “It’s been small items and no one’s been hurt. Things like blankets, clothes from the drying lines, food, and Stig swears someone stole his new fishing pole.”

Katel snorted, “Stig lost another pole?”

“Aye, probably got drunk, fell asleep, and it slipped out of his hand and into the water. By now it’s somewhere near Darkwater Crossing.”

“I’ll let Aju-Lei know tonight when he comes home, thanks Gunmyr.”

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei frowned when Katel told him of the thefts in town. “Wonder if it’s someone who was passing through or if they’re still here.”

“I don’t know, Gunmyr didn’t say how long ago it happened. I locked the shop up and latched the windows.”

Aju-Lei nodded, “I’ll secure the chickens and goat inside the stable tonight instead of letting them roam in their pasture. They may not like it, but it’ll be better than waking up to find them gone.”

 

* * *

 

The son of the town’s blacksmith showed up on their shop’s doorstep a few weeks later needing potions for his father’s incessant cough. He passed along the news of more thefts happening in the area. Katel packaged up the bottles in a small sack with straw for padding and reminded the boy to tell his father to take one of the potions when he starts to feel his chest tightening, not when he was already in the middle of severe coughing.

The boy nodded before placing a small pouch of Septims on the counter and hurried back to the smithy.

Katel was in the middle of sweeping the shop floor before they closed for the night when Aju-Lei poked his head inside. “Katel?” She looked at him and smiled, then noticed he wasn’t smiling back.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m back from picking up the flakes of hay for the animals. Chana said their farm got hit by the thief. Several jugs of milk, a few wheels of cheese, and a handled basket which had vegetables they were going to trade for some of your healing balms are missing.

I don’t get it. Nothing major is being taken, just small items and food. It’s like someone isn’t really intent of stealing goods to sell, just taking enough to get by on. No one’s home has been broken into or animals stolen either. The grocer said only his vegetables were taken and not the slabs of lamb and beef hanging on the other side of the well house. It’s all rather odd.”

Two days later the Thatcher showed up and started on the roof of the small hut. Aju-Lei finished waterproofing the outside with a thick layer of clay plaster followed by multiple coats of linseed oil. When he finished, he used the same mixture on the hut’s floor to harden and waterproof it as well.

 

* * *

 

The first week of fall was almost upon them when they moved the small bed, a plain wooden dresser, Hrefran’s chest, and a rocking chair they bought for her into the new hut. They added a bright throw rug and matching quilt and Aju-Lei stocked several armloads of wood next to the stone fireplace for her to use.

Hrefran looked around the tiny home and grinned, “This is perfect. Not too big for a single person yet not too small to feel cramped, I love it. Thank you, Aju-Lei.”

His coloration darkened as he blushed and accepted her thanks and hug. “I’m glad you like it. I know Katel is happy you’re here and staying with us which makes me happy as well.”

Hrefran smiled, “I wish she would have met you when she was still a child, maybe she wouldn’t have had the hard life she did.”

Aju-Lei shrugged, “Life was difficult for me when I was a child too, not as much as Katel, of course. I think the Hist brought us together at the right time to understand and know the true value of each other.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Hrefran said as Katel opened the round wooden door of the house and greeted them with a smile as she entered.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei’s birdhouse gourds were ready to harvest and the three of them spent all day gathering them. Hrefran cackled another dry sounding laugh as she joked about every bird in Skyrim would have its own house if they sold all the gourds.

Aju-Lei had a chagrined smile on his face as he admitted he may have gone overboard with the year’s planting of gourds.

Katel snorted and looked over the rest of the field of round gourds, oblong gourds, yellow gourds, green gourds, bumpy gourds, and pumpkins for pies and soups. “I think you might be right there, Aju-Lei. Are all of these going to fit inside the shed you built?”

He nodded, “Yes, the way I designed it, the ones like the birdhouse and the water gourds are lightweight so I can hang them up to finish drying. The rest of them can stay on pallets I bought from Gunmyr who sold them cheap when I inquired about them. I can stack them using the wood blocks and they’ll have plenty of room between pallets. At least I’ll stay busy over the winter when there isn’t much work at the docks.”

Their gourd harvest lasted until the first frost signaled the beginning of winter in the area. The women hurried to bring in the last of the fall vegetable harvest while Aju-Lei doubled his efforts in stocking their wood supply for next year so he wouldn’t have to spend so much time cutting it in the summer heat.


	18. Chapter 18

* * *

 

 

A blizzard arrived overnight without warning. Aju-Lei bundled up in several layers of thick furs so he could check on Hrefran to make sure she had plenty of wood available, and also to deliver a large pot of stew Katel made.

Katel handed him one of the new oil lanterns the trader’s store recently stocked, then gave him a pack full of candles, waxed lighting sticks, bowls, cups, spoons, and Aju-Lei grunted when she stuffed in a huge wedge of wrapped cheese and bread to the mix.

“Be careful, Aju-Lei. Tell Hrefran to stay indoors in this weather. Make sure she has wood and her water barrel is full.”

“Of course, Katel.”

“And make sure to tell her you’ll be by in the morning to check on her.”

“Okay,” he said as he picked up the blackened cauldron of stew and started for the door.

“And make sure to tell her to take her medicine.”

Aju-Lei sighed, “I will, Katel.”

“Do you have enough furs? Maybe we should add a few more to the pack? I’ve got a couple of blankets which didn’t sell from last winter, maybe we should add those too?”

“I think the half dozen furs we gave her along with the three blankets, and the fur-lined boots for her to wear inside her house will be sufficient. The home is snug and not drafty, the fireplace will keep it toasty warm inside. When I get there, I’ll ask her if she needs more, though, and if she does, I’ll make another trip.”

“Okay. Be careful in this storm.”

He leaned in to kiss her and whispered he would, but she needed to be ready to warm him up when he returned. She looked at him and gasped when he patted her backside as he grinned at her. She swatted his shoulder as she mumbled for him to get going.

Aju-Lei fought his way through calf-high snow stopping only long enough to make sure none of the lanterns had blown off their poles and the store remained locked with the windows secured before attaching the guide ropes to the hook near the door.

Several minutes later he banged on the thick wooden door of the small house in the more sheltered area of the woods and waited for Hrefran to answer.

“Aju-Lei? What are you doing out in this weather? Come on in before you freeze to death,” she said and opened the door wider for him.

He stomped off the accumulated snow from his fur boots so he wouldn’t track it across her floor before putting the now cool stew on the fireplace’s stone hearth.

“We wanted to make sure you had supplies and were safe. Katel made goat stew, and we brought you a few more things. This weather is too harsh for you to try to make it to our place. Do you have enough wood? Water? Blankets?”

“I could use more wood, but the water and blankets I have are enough. This little house keeps the heat in much better than the one I used to live in so I have used little wood, but it never hurts to have plenty stocked up just in case.”

He nodded and handed her the small pack before telling her what it contained. He raised the fur hood before heading back out to the small woodshed built a few yards from the house.

“The guiding ropes are in place in case you have an emergency. I’ve tied bright red strips of cloth to the one leading to the outhouse, blue for the store, and purple for the one to our house. If you have to leave your house, make sure you hold on tightly to those ropes so you don’t get lost, visibility is next to nothing even now,” Aju-Lei told Hrefran after he stocked the wood beside her front door. “I’ll be back first thing in the morning to check on you.”

Aju-Lei picked up the oil lantern and made sure the door was firmly closed behind him before making his way back to his house using the thick rope he attached to the buildings.

Katel helped him remove the layers of leather and fur as he told her Hrefran was fine and had plenty of wood stocked for several days. She barely had enough time to drape the damp garments over a drying rack before she squealed in surprise as Aju-Lei picked her up and carried her to their bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Hrefran groaned as she stood after placing another chunk of wood into the fire. This was her second winter in this part of Skyrim and her body was telling her it still didn’t like the colder weather. She was used to a warmer climate, true they would have snow during the winter, but rarely did it ever get ankle high, let alone knee high which was not unusual here.

She looked around at her snug little house and smiled again. True, it wasn’t the large stone and timber construction most of the houses were, but it wasn’t drafty, easy to sweep clean, and she didn’t have to worry about ice forming on the inner walls. If it was anything like Katel and Aju-Lei’s house she wouldn’t be feeling overly hot this summer either. Overall, she was rather pleased with the way things worked out.

She ate a dinner of fresh bread and a bowl of the stew Aju-Lei brought earlier in the day then sat in front of the fire knitting a set of mittens for Katel from some leftover dyed wool she made. It was well after sunset when she realized she had none of the potions for her aching joints left in her storage chest.

She looked out the tiny round window and saw several of the lanterns were lit but no guards patrolling the area and sighed. She had to have her potion, and it looked like she’d have to leave her home to get it.

She took a while to get changed into the multiple layers of fur and leather clothing and boots both Aju-Lei and Katel insisted she wears when outside in the winter. She grumbled to them and told them she was a nord and not a breton who couldn’t handle the cold. Privately, she was thankful for the warm clothing as she grew chilled rather easy as she got older.

She took one of her lanterns and made sure the candle inside was seated properly and still thick enough to last for at least another hour so she wouldn’t have to light ones inside the shop, then picked up the heavy iron key and hung it on her belt. Since the thefts began Katel kept the store locked when it wasn’t open even if she was only outside tending the garden of herbs nearby.

Adding a heavy, hooded fur cloak and mittens to her outfit she felt she was ready to brave the continuing storm to make enough potions to last her for several days. Once outside she lifted the sheltered lantern high enough to make out which rope had the strip of blue cloth tied to it. She took a firm grip on it and stepped out from under the wide eave of her home and into the knee-high snow.

Hrefran was out of breath and her lungs hurt terribly from the frigid cold. She was within sight of the store when she noticed something odd. A small flicker of firelight came from inside the building. Hrefran continued to make her way the last several yards to the shop and noticed a set of deep depressions in the snow near the door leading away from both her house and Katel’s. She frowned and wondered what was going on.

She reached for the shop key on her belt and inserted it into the lock when the door creaked open. Someone or something had broken the lock.

Hrefran lifted the lantern and tried to see inside. There wasn’t enough light coming from the brazier in the corner to force back all the shadows. “Who’s here? I know you’re in here. You’re trespassing and the guards will be here any minute.”

She heard a faint hissing sound coming from behind the counter and gripped her lantern tighter; she didn’t have a way to defend herself except to use the light as a cudgel.

When nothing or no one came at her, she stepped inside and closed the door. She picked up one of Aju-Lei’s water gourds from the table next to the door and gripped it tightly. It wasn’t much but better than damaging her only lantern if she had to use it.

When she rounded the counter ready to strike at whoever was hiding there, she stopped in her tracks at the sight which greeted her. A small elf lay bundled in ragged blankets, patched together furs, and mismatched clothing. She found the town thief.

“Who are you and why did you break into the store?”

The elf glanced up at her with pain-filled orange eyes. “I need help,” the elf hissed and clutched at her swollen stomach.

“Mara’s mercy,” Hrefran whispered and placed the gourd on the counter before grunting as she lowered herself to kneel on the floor.

The bosmer woman cried out as another contraction hit her.

“How long has this been happening?” Hrefran asked and waited until the elf could speak again.

“An hour, maybe more. I’m sorry for breaking into your store. I was hoping to find something to help.”

“Hush, we need to get you to the main house, this is no place to give birth. We need more warmth and to get you comfortable. Let’s get up off this freezing floor,” Hrefran said as she struggled to rise and help the elf stand.

Hrefran was both taller and heavy than the slight elf and she worried the girl wouldn’t make it. “How old are you? Where is the father?”

“I’m twenty.”

“Barely more than a child for an elf,” Hrefran said as she picked up the lantern and handed it to the woman. “Hold this and keep your other arm around my waist. I won’t be able to hold on to you with both hands as I must keep a firm grip on the rope. Your child picked a bad night to want to be born.” She noticed the girl hadn’t mentioned the father.

Hrefran gripped the elf’s waist and held onto the rope with the purple cloth wrapped around it and made her way toward the main house. They had to move quickly as the elf wouldn’t last long out in the weather, and from the cries of pain coming from her the baby would be born soon.

Aju-Lei sat up in bed when he heard someone banging on the front door. Katel shifted and pulled the heavy fur up to cover her naked body as Aju-Lei swung his legs over the side and reached for his discarded leather pants.

When he opened the door and saw Hrefran there holding someone up he reached for them simultaneously calling out for Katel get dressed.

Hrefran moved closer to the fire as Katel hurried from the bedroom wearing a long leather tunic and skirt.

“What’s going on?” Katel said as she saw Aju-Lei pick up a slight figure and carry them toward the bed.

Hrefran stripped off the mittens she wore and removed her cloak, “An elf woman’s in labor. She was inside the store looking for aid. We need to get her warm and prepare for the birth.”

“What?” Katel said and moved closer to where Aju-Lei just laid the bundle of sodden blankets and ragged furs onto the small bed under the stairs.

Katel turned to Aju-Lei, “I hate to ask this, but we need you to fetch Tielra and any infant supplies she has available. I have no experience with births, let alone an elvish one.”

He nodded and ran for the bedroom while the women stripped the elf down and removed the wet fur from the bed. Katel hurried into the bedroom and retrieved one of her linen nightgowns before returning to dress the woman in it. The voluminous folds of the garment dwarfed the elf even further. Hrefran finished removing her outer furs as Aju-Lei exited the bedroom.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. If I cut across the fields and Tielra hurries to find the items we should be back in four hours,” he said as he jogged up the stairs to the loft and came back down a few minutes later with several strange items in his hands. “I was keeping these for the New Festival gift giving but this is more important.”

Katel watched him strap two of the strange devices to his boots and put the other two into a pack with some food, a waterskin, several candles, a fire starter kit, and a small container of lamp oil. He nuzzled her before putting the leather nose and mouth guard up around his face and raised the hood of his heavy bear-fur cloak before opening the door and walking out into the snow. Katel watched in astonishment as instead of sinking knee-deep he seemed to only sink an inch or two as he made his way across the snow-covered gourd field and toward the redguard’s goat farm.

Hrefran dug leather scraps out of a chest for cast offs and slid them under the elf just as another contraction started. Katel heated water in the kettle on the hearth and talked softly to the woman.

“What is your name?”

The elf looked at her and didn’t answer her as she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out.

“We won’t harm you, or turn you in to the town’s guards. We just want to know your name instead of calling you elf,” Katel said as she added a few leaves and ingredients into a cup and poured the hot water over them.

“Cierwaen,” came the pain filled reply a minute later.

“Pleased to meet you, Cierwaen, I’m Katel and this is Hrefran. The drink I’m making for you will help ease some of your pain and also warm you up. Is your family nearby so we can fetch them for you?”

Cierwaen blinked her large, orange eyes at Katel and shook her head. “No family. I’m here alone.”

Katel frowned and held the clay cup to the woman’s lips as she sipped the brew. “try to relax. Where is the father? I’m sure he’ll want to know.”

The girl shook her head again.

“I will need to check you to see how close your babe is to being born,” Hrefran said. “I’ve never helped to deliver an elf before so I’m hoping it’s the same as with one of us.” She lifted the end of the blanket and held a lantern up for a better view before testing the female. “Hmm, still a while yet. Try to relax. If you can manage it, sleep for a while. The birth will take all your strength.”

Hrefran covered her and moved toward the stove. After washing up she brought down a pot from the overhead rack and a small smoked hare from the barrel nearby. “I’ll start broth cooking, it looks like you haven’t eaten for a while.”

“No meat. I don’t eat meat, only vegetables, and grains,” Cierwaen said.

Hrefran turned to the woman and nodded before putting the hare back and opening the vegetable bin to gather ingredients for a broth.

Katel moved a hard-backed chair next to the bed and used warm water to clean Cierwaen’s face and hands trying to soothe and relax her.

“How did you come to be in Oakwood?” she asked quietly.

The elf stared at her then sighed. “My family and I fled Valenwood years ago. We didn’t follow the Green Pact, and the others hunted us because of it.”

“Green Pact?” Katel asked as she straightened the cover over the woman.

“Yes, it’s a religious practice which most of the Valenwood bosmer adhere too. My family didn’t, we wanted nothing to do with some of the practices and because of it we had to flee.”

She waited as another contraction gripped her before continuing. “Part of the pact says we are to only consume meat and not bring harm to any plants. It included the bodies of the fallen enemies and even our brethren. The practice sickened my family, all we wanted to do was grow grain and vegetables, to partake of the bounty growing around us. I had to watch my younger sibling die because the village healer refused to pick the herb which would have cured him even though it grew not more than a foot from her doorstep. Outside of Valenwood, the bosmer were less restricted and most don’t follow the Pact. The ones who do, however, despise the ones who do not.”

Katel held the cup for the elf again and insisted she drink.

“We made it to Skyrim after a few years of traveling hoped to find a place here.” The woman closed her eyes and leaned back to rest against the pillow and headboard. “We found a small grove with a good water source, plenty of fertile land, thick, healthy trees and set up camp. Life was good for a while. Then they came in the middle of the night.”

Katel sat down the cup, “Who came?”

“Bandits… mercenaries, I don’t know. They were all men, no elves or any of the beast races. All of them were dirty and unkempt with stringy hair and filthy armor with blue cloth tied around it.”

Katel and Hrefran both gasped out the word Stormcloaks, and the elf looked at them.

“What happened,” Hrefran asked even though she thought she knew the answer.

“They attacked us while we sat around our campfire having dinner. They yelled something which sounded like ‘Skyrim is for the nords,’ and laid about with their axes and swords. They killed my parents within moments and my older brother died before he could pick up his bow. I was the only one left, and I wish I had died with them.”

The house grew quiet with the only sound was the fire crackling in the hearth and the clack of the wooden spoon hitting the side of the pot as Hrefran stirred the broth.

“They took turns and then left me naked, bloody, and half dead in the cold. I scavenged what I could from what they didn’t steal from us and walked. It wasn’t until the second month when I realized I was pregnant. After months of walking, I found myself outside of Oakwood. I was so tired, hungry, ill, and felt I couldn’t go on so I stole things to prepare for the winter. I know it was wrong of me, but I felt I had no choice. I didn’t know who I could trust, who I couldn’t, and I tried to take only what I needed or would need.

Then I stumbled over your shop and watched you from the woods. I saw how you helped anyone who came to you for aid, no matter their race. I witnessed how much you cared for everyone and heard your joy and laughter. I missed those sounds and stayed longer than I should have.

I knew my time was growing close and came to see if you had anything in your shop to help me; I waited until after night fell then broke in. The contractions started and I could barely get the brazier going to ward off the chill, I hoped to have the child and leave before anyone knew I was there.”

“We wouldn’t have known it if I hadn’t forgotten to make more potions for my aches and pains,” Hrefran said as she brought a steaming mug of broth over to the bed. “Drink some of this then nap while you can. It will be a long night.”

A scream startled Katel and Hrefran awake, both women rushed toward the bed and tried to calm the elf who clutched at her stomach and screamed again.

“Hrefran?”

The older woman frowned and raised the scrap of leather covering the woman’s legs and lifted the gown. She hissed and grew pale. The smell of blood reached Katel’s nose and her gaze locked with Hrefran. From the look on the woman’s face, something was terribly wrong.

Hrefran rushed as best she could to gather the scraps of multi-colored linen from the chest and whatever toweling Katel could bring her before washing her hands. “Try to relax. I need to check you again,” she murmured but doubted the girl heard her over the screams.

“What’s happening?” Katel said as Hrefran washed the blood from her hands.

“Something’s keeping the baby from dropping. I’ve never encountered this before, I don’t know what to do,” Hrefran said as she dried her hands.

Over the next two hours, the girl’s screams grew weaker and weaker as she continued to lose blood.

Hrefran tried everything she could think of to help. “Cierwaen? Listen, child. Your baby’s in trouble. I know it hurts, and I know you’re tired, but try to birth the baby.”

“I can’t… so tired,” the elf mumbled as her eyes slid shut.

“Child, this is no time to rest, you can sleep after the babe is born. Open your eyes,” Hrefran demanded. It took a few seconds before she complied.

Katel moved behind the woman and helped to support her while Hrefran added more linen cloth to catch the blood and bodily fluid from the birth.

In between the weakening contractions and feeble cries of the girl, Katel talked to her. “What are you going to name the babe?”

A faint sigh came from the girl as her eyes closed again, “I haven’t thought about it.”

Another weak contraction and Hrefran yelled at the girl to push with every bit of strength she had left. The baby slid from the elf and Hrefran cursed as the child didn’t move or breathe on its own.

“Come on, little one,” she murmured and took a piece of linen and briskly rubbed the child after cleaning the nose and mouth.

“You have a daughter, Cierwaen, with hair as dark as coal,” Katel said to the girl.

Orange eyes met hers for a moment then the woman breathed a single word as her eyes closed again. “Nightwing.” The girl didn’t stir as the faint cry of the baby sounded.

Hrefran bundled the baby up and held it out to Katel.

“Cierwaen? I need for you to push again to make sure we get the afterbirth out,” Hrefran said and again the girl didn’t move. “Cierwaen?”

Older woman lifted the girl’s arm, and it dropped to the bed, then she held her hand over the girl’s chest and it didn’t raise up with a breath so she bent over to listen. She heard silence. She rushed to the bedroom and brought back a small hand mirror and held it under the elf’s nose. It didn’t fog after several minutes. She stood up and Katel looked at her.

Hrefran took the last piece of green linen, the color of pine needles, and laid it gently over the young elf’s face.

 

* * *

 

A short while later the front door opened and Aju-Lei followed by Tielra wrapped head to foot in furs entered.

Aju-Lei took one look at the bed with the elf’s partially shrouded body still laying on it and sighed, “What happened?” Katel and Hrefran told him while they finished preparing Cierwaen’s body.

Katel handed the baby to Tielra who immediately carried her over to the fireplace for an examination.

Aju-Lei drank warm broth and rested as best as he could before picking up the body wrapped in white sheeting and carrying it out into the storm. When he returned the women had thrown the mattress out into the snow and told him to burn it, along with the linen, and the scraps of leather buried or burned along with it.

He drank several more cups of the hot broth before heading back out to try to find a guard to help build a funeral pyre in the middle of a blizzard, the last thing they needed was the smell of blood to attract predators to their door.

Dawn arrived as he entered the house again and tiredly made his way over to the fire. Hrefran loaded the table with food and hot drinks for him as he removed the furs and sat down.

Tielra sat on a chair near Katel who held the child while holding a goat’s horn in her hand.

After drinking a full cup of the hot tea he asked Hrefran what she was doing.

“The goat’s horn is full of fresh milk for the baby. We’re lucky Tielra brought it and the leather nipples with her since none of us can nurse the baby. It took a while because the child is so weak, but we finally got her to take some warmed milk. Now we have to hope she becomes strong enough to survive.”

“What about the girl’s family? The babe’s father?”

Hrefran sighed as she looked over at Katel holding the child, “We’re her family now. You and Katel are her parents, she has no one else.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last two chapters span many years. Thanks for reading.

* * *

 

 

Several days later, Tielra left to return home leaving Katel and Aju-Lei to figure out how to raise an elven child on their own. Gunmyr stopped by and between Hrefran and Katel he learned about Cierwaen, the thefts, and the reasons behind them. The announcement of the birth went out to all the families in Oakwood and congratulations poured in as did their condolences for losing the child’s natural mother.

A few days later Chana and Tielra showed up at their house with another goat in tow. “You will need more than one goat as the child grows. Right now yours will be sufficient, but in a week or two, you’ll find it won’t be enough. Our husbands have also brought several flakes of hay for it and are in your stable loading it onto the shelves. Although, I believe they are probably having fun playing with the device you have to lift the hay than stocking the shelves.”

Aju-Lei grinned and wrapped himself in the furs before leading the goat to the stable and settling it in with the other one. The women walked over to where the baby, wrapped in colorful pieces of linen, lay nestled in a large crate filled with a mixture of hay and straw.

“She’s very quiet,” Chana said as she looked down at the baby who seemed to look back at her with large orange eyes.

“We noticed it as well. She looks to be holding her own. We’re still keeping a close eye on her. She’s drinking the goat’s milk with some coaxing,” Katel said as she watched the baby blink and close her large eyes falling almost instantly asleep.

“What will you name her?” Tielra asked as she removed the clean pieces of swaddling from the drying rack near the hearth and folded them.

Katel knelt down next to the bucket full of soaking pieces of linen and washed then rinsed them before adding the plain linen cloth to the small pot of boiling water.

“Her mother called her Nightwing. Aju-Lei wants to give her an additional name, but he’s worried the local bosmer would be angry.”

Chana hung up the wrung out pieces of cloth on the drying rack. “Why didn’t she go to one of them? There are several bosmer families living in the wooded sections between Oakwood and Riverwood, and Faendal lives in Riverwood.”

“She told us she didn’t know who she could trust. She didn’t trust the other bosmer. I doubt she even would have shown herself to us if it hadn’t been for her wanting to find potions to help with her labor.”

Tielra sighed as she stood to pour out the bucket of dirty water, “If it wasn’t for you and Hrefran, both her and the child would have perished. If anyone says anything, all of us would stand with you and Aju-Lei.”

Katel shrugged her shoulders as she added clean water to the bucket and started several more of the linen wraps soaking. “I’ll talk to him about it later.” She groaned as she stood and rubbed her back, “I had no idea babies went through so many cloths. I will need to purchase even more from the store.” The other women chuckled and told her it would be worse when she started eating solid foods in a few months.

 

* * *

 

Spring arrived and with it came planting season. Chana showed up bright and early with several lengths of padded cloth folded in her hands. She showed them how to tie them to form a cradle for the baby so they could carry her inside securely and free their hands for work.

Nightwing grew at a steady pace, her eyes bright and inquisitive as she viewed her surroundings, but she remained extremely quiet. Barely more than a whimper when she was hungry or needed her cloth changed.

Aju-Lei and Katel noticed several of the bosmer families hovering at the edge of their property. Though they were in the shadows, flashes of light once in a while let the two of them know someone stood watching them.

Throughout the day, they took turns feeding and changing the baby while Hrefran shooed the goat they kept nearby away from the newly planted fields. Several of the villagers showed up to help with the planting, much to Aju-Lei and Katel’s surprise. Gunmyr arrived one morning with a hoe slung over his shoulder whistling a tune followed by several of the dockworkers. The nord only grinned at them then turned the soil over in the area Hrefran pointed to.

The next morning Aju-Lei opened the door to find a hand-carved wooden basket sitting outside the door with thick ropes threaded through both ends. On it was a note explaining to hang the basket from wooden beams so the baby could lie in it and be rocked.

Small items made of wood or plants showed up outside their door over the next month, and every morning they noticed one of the bosmer disappearing back into the woods as they took the items inside.

One morning Aju-Lei opened the door and found an object which reminded him of the snowshoes he had. The oblong-shaped object was made from twisted vines, leather laces, and decorated with painted wooden carvings of leaves and animals with a scroll attached to it. After he read the note telling him how to wear it and what it was for, he placed the padded vine carrier on Katel’s back and put his daughter inside. With each movement Katel made or when the breeze blew, the wooden carvings would shift and make a melodious sound as they came together or rang the tiny silver bells hanging from leather laces. Aju-Lei would smile when the child jerkily reached out for one of the dangling objects and batted it.

Aju-Lei and Katel lay in bed one evening and listened as a set of wood chimes hanging outside their bedroom window clattered in the light breeze.

“I think the bosmer have accepted us as the child’s parents and I don’t think they would mind if we gave her a name.”

Aju-Lei stroked Katel’s arm as he watched the hanging basket rock when a stronger breeze set it in motion. “I have been thinking the same thing. What do you think of Kahl-Lei Nightwing?”

Katel’s brow furrowed, “Why Kahl-Lei?”

He hugged her to him, "There is no real translation between the languages, but as close as I can come would be Blessed-in-Winter, and we were certainly blessed.”

Katel smiled and nodded. The next morning she opened the door to start the day and saw a large brown goat tied to their fence with several baskets just out of her reach.

“Aju-Lei? Did Endoy tell you they were dropping off another goat?”

Aju-Lei looked up from where he was tying the leather laces of his boots and shook his head. “No. They didn’t mention it yesterday at all. Why?”

“Because there’s one tied to our fence.”

Aju-Lei handed Kahl-Lei to her before walking down the path toward the goat who somehow reached the row of mint and tore a huge mouthful from the pot before chewing it.

“Shit,” Aju-Lei said just as the goat stretched and curled its lips to grab for the raspberry bush growing next to a fence pole. “Oh, no you don’t,” he said and nudged the goat’s head away from the plant.

He staked the goat further from any of their bushes and left it to graze in the taller grass while he moved back to search the baskets and find out who left the goat.

“Katel? It’s not one of Endoy’s goats, theirs are all white. The baskets only contain children’s clothing and bags of grain mash and dried fruit with a note saying to feed Kahl-Lei the mixture made with warm goat’s milk three times a day and continue to give her as much goat milk as she’ll drink.”

“Do you think one of the local bosmer sent it?”

Aju-Lei shrugged, “I would guess so, although why they don’t come up and knock on our door I still don’t know. Looks like I will have to enlarge the fenced off part of the meadow and build a goat house since we have three of them now.”

 

* * *

 

Winter was once again fast approaching and the small family stockpiled as many supplies as they could. Kahl-Lei remained a quiet child but would light up the room when her baby laughter sounded during the times they would lie in front of the fire with her and play together.

It was those times when she had uttered her first words of Mum and Da. Both of them broke down and cried as Hrefran pretended not to notice them while dabbing at her own eyes and knitting warm leg coverings for the baby to wear.

They all gasped as on a cold, snowy night just before her first birthday, Kahl-Lei let go of the wooden chair she held onto and wobbled her way several steps toward Aju-Lei.

“There’ll be no stopping her now,” Hrefran said and warned them of the coming months ahead when the child would start to move faster and would inevitably find a way to get into everything.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei quickly learned his daughter was fast and stealthy when he took his eyes off her for a minute. While picking up several toys, he glanced up to find her halfway up the steps to the storage loft. He moved several barrels in front of the stairs after he calmed himself down and told her not to do that again.

He found Katel trying to run through the grass heading for the goat pasture one morning calling out Kahl-Lei’s name then heard his daughter’s laugh echoing from the same direction. He took off running and made it to her as she stuck her hands through the fence and grabbed for the brown goat.

“Sweet Mara, she will be the death of us,” Katel panted as Aju-Lei tried to hold a wiggling Kahl-Lei who wanted down to run off again.

 

* * *

 

Somehow the child made it to her fifth birthday with little more than scraped knees and a few bumps. She grew quiet again a few months after her birthday when Katel went to check on Hrefran and found her dead. The old woman passed in her sleep.

The night of the funeral pyre everyone gathered near a cleared area to say their goodbyes. The night grew quiet except for the sound of the roaring fire and several reed flutes blowing a soulful sound of mourning from the nearby woods.

 

* * *

 

Kahl-Lei turned ten and helped Katel in the shop during the winter months to stock potions and create bolts of colored cloth. The girl had a knack for mixing flowers and herbs together to create both vibrant colors neither one had ever seen before, and the earthen tones which hunters and bosmer shop owners preferred.

Aju-Lei sat on a stool painting one of his birdhouse gourds when out of nowhere he said, “What do you think about taking a trip to Windhelm?”

Katel looked up in shock, “Windhelm? Why would you want to go there?”

“It’s been many years since we’ve been there or saw our friends. The war ended a few years ago maybe things have changed since the Imperials won and placed a new Jarl there.”

“Maybe, but who will watch over the shop and farm? We can’t leave in the middle of winter and the spring planting needs to be done, then the harvest and… it doesn’t stop until winter comes. Even then we have plenty of work to do.”

“I can go ask Endoy and Chana if they’re willing to stay here while we’re gone. They can watch over the place and make sure the animals are healthy. We can take the overland carriages. Perhaps the stable in Whiterun would have several farm horses we could look at when the carriage stops there on the way back. It’s been a month since our pony died and we need a new horse come planting time.”

Kahl-Lei looked between her parents and wondered what was going on and why her mother didn’t want to go to Windhelm. People sometimes forgot she was nearby and talked about things they normally wouldn’t. The war and anytime her parents would mention Windhelm would usually be cut off when they saw her, this seemed to be one of those times when they didn’t remember she was in the room, which didn’t happen too often as it was.

“I’m just not sure how returning there would affect us, especially with our daughter in tow. You know how the townspeople are.”

“How they used to be. Sure, I could see avoiding the place for more years, but we don’t know how it is now.”

Katel sighed and capped another bottle of cough syrup. “I suppose so. It would be nice to see Scouts-Many-Marshes and Shahvee again.”  


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you to everyone who reads the story, left kudos, and comments.

* * *

 

 

The family waited at the overland coach station for the carriage to arrive from Falkreath on its way to Whiterun. The young bosmer girl bounced up and down sending her braids flying and the dark green ribbons tied on the ends flowing out behind her.

Aju-Lei stared down at her for a second and she grinned at her father and shrugged.

Katel turned to Endoy and Chana, “We should be back by summer. At the latest the first week of fall if we encounter traveling issues. We’ve locked the store and all the products are being taken care of by the traders. Gunmyr put a sign on the post saying we were closed. There’s plenty of food and everything is stocked.”

Chana laughed and hugged her friend, “We know how to take care of ourselves, Katel so stop worrying. If we need help the entire town will pitch in.”

Kahl-Lei climbed into the travel carriage and hung over the side waving at her friends. As the carriage started its journey toward Whiterun, she saw several bosmer standing just outside the tree line and waved at them before they melted back into the trees. Her parents never hid the fact of the circumstances of her birth, they listened to her and answered her questions no matter how tough or emotional for them. They were her parents, and she loved them both dearly. It didn’t matter they differed from her; she told and show them in as many ways as she could.

 

* * *

 

  
While they waited at the Whiterun stables for the carriage to Windhelm, Aju-Lei approached the stable master and asked about horses. The stable master remembered him and assured him he could have a good, solid two-year-old waiting for them when they returned if they trusted him to choose it. They agreed on a price range and Septims changed hands along with a firm handshake just as the carriage rolled up.

 

* * *

  


They paused as they crossed the wide stone bridge into Windhelm and looked toward the busy docks.

“Looks like the argonians still work most of the dock area,” Aju-Lei said and frowned before they continued on their way.

The war left the city damaged, but the new Jarl rebuilt in earnest over the past few years. When they stepped through the opened gates, they noticed many more dunmer wandering around than there had been years ago.

Their first stop was to the large Candlehearth Hall Inn in front of them to secure a room. The Innkeeper was not openly hostile toward Aju-Lei but didn’t exactly give him a warm welcome either. Her attitude changed when Aju-Lei requested the largest suite of rooms they had and paid for a month upfront in gold Septims.

After resting the day and eating a good meal, they looked around the city. The market place was just as crowded, noisy, and sold every kind of ware imaginable as it had so many years ago. They walked away with several small decorative items for the house while Kahl-Lei asked to purchase a few sweets to eat.

The next morning the group walked down the small steps toward the docks and noticed the large, faded closed sign painted on a dilapidated Calixto’s House of Curiosities. They stopped one of the young lads carrying wood from the chopping block and asked about it.

“The fetcher murdered a bunch of women years ago before I was even born. They say the man was insane and tried to bring his dead sister back to life using necromancy. Bad place it is mister,” the boy said then hurried away.

They stopped at the small market stalls outside the docks area, which were new to both of them. Kahl-Lei purchased items for her friends and Katel helped to get them into the girl’s pack as Aju-Lei asked the dunmer storekeeper if things were changing for the better in town.

“It’s getting better, it won’t be a quick fix, but it is heading in a good direction. The new Jarl wants to work with the other races and is doing his best to get the other nords to see things his way.”

Aju-Lei pushed opened the dock door, and they followed the stone steps down the alleyway and around the corner which opened onto the dock itself. It was bustling with activity with argonians in a wide range of colors everywhere. Aju-Lei did a double take as he saw several nords unloading boats and being directed on where to stack the cargo by an argonian with a large tome in his hands.

A different argonian approached them after a few minutes, “Afternoon, folks. This is the Windhelm docks, are you expecting a shipment? Or perhaps needing to make arrangements to ship goods out?”

Aju-Lei turned to the youngster. “We were looking for two people, Scouts-Many-Marshes and Shahvee, do you know them?”

The dark blue argonian smiled and nodded, “Sure do, they’re my parents. Come with me they’re at the office.”

It was Shahvee who recognized them first, “By the Hist, Katel and Aju-Lei? We thought you were dead or had left Skyrim when we hadn’t heard from you. What happened?”

While the adults caught up, Kahl-Lei looked around the office closely followed by Chail, Shahvee and Scouts’ son. The sound of a clearing throat brought the younger one’s attention back to the adults. Scouts-Many-Marshes reminded his son he had work to do. Katel grinned at Shahvee as Kahl-Lei returned to their side and listened quietly to the conversation.

In one of the far corners of the office, Aju-Lei and Scouts-Many-Marshes had a hushed conversation of the many changes which took place on the docks after the war. “They still don’t want us up in the town, but the Jarl comes down here with updates on what he’s doing to change the situation. Now, it’s more of a protection for us than just to keep us separate. There are still too many nords unwilling to accept the other races among them.”

“What happened to the others? I didn’t see Neetrenaza, Stands-In-Shallows, or a few others.”

Scouts-Many-Marshes leaned against a large barrel and sighed, “Neetrenaza left a few years ago to return to Black Marsh. Stands-In-Shallows overdosed on skooma shortly after you and Katel left. As far as the others? Well, I’m assuming you’re speaking about the one which threatened your life… a guard caught him stealing from one of the merchant’s ships a year after you left. The merchant had enough pull with the old Jarl to have him hung instead of jailed, and his cronies scattered like leaves in the wind when the dock manager hired a different bookkeeper to audit the ship manifests and found more than a few missing baubles from one or two which were assigned to them.”

The month seemed to fly by. The group stood outside the stables as the laborers loaded Aju-Lei and Katel’s purchases into the back of the carriage. A last round of well wishes and the driver clicked to the horses to start the long journey back to Whiterun, then to home to Oakwood.

The group tiredly trudged up the path toward their house as the sun set. Gunmyr’s son assured them their belongings would be safe in the warehouse overnight and they could pick them up any time the following day.

All three of them heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the lanterns burning next to the doorway of their home and along the path toward the stable. Aju-Lei led the bay gelding toward the stable to settle him into his new home while Katel and Kahl-Lei went into the house.

Katel smiled at the thoughtfulness of Chana and her husband. Not only was the house clean, but the bedding had a freshly washed scent. There was a hearty stew simmering on the stove while several loaves of fresh-baked bread sat on the table. All three of them felt good to be home even though the fall planting season would start in less than a week and it would be a busy time.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sure about this, Kahl-Lei? You’re young to be moving out on your own,” Katel said.

“Mama… I’m moving to the house behind the shop, not clear across Skyrim,” Kahl-Lei said to her mother as she lifted a box of clothing and carried it to the door. “Besides, I don’t have a kitchen there so I’ll be here all the time eating your cooking.”

“Still, you’re only sixteen years old,” Katel said as she picked up a smaller box and limped after her daughter, her leg pained her the last year like it used to before meeting Aju-Lei.

“I’ll be nearby, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be working in the shop and helping with the garden and herb patches still. Not to mention we’ll be dyeing the batches of yarn we spun.”

“But, you’ll be all alone out here at night. It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll be all right, the door has a sturdy lock on it. Papa repaired any damage, and they finished thatching the roof a few days ago, and I cleaned it all up on the inside. Chana brought me a new mattress ticking and Senta helped me stuff it yesterday. Both Gunmyr’s and the blacksmith’s sons brought me a new water barrel and filled up the woodshed for me. It will be fine.”

“I still don’t like it,” Katel argued.

When they approached the small hut Katel stopped and stared. “What is all this?”

Kahl-Lei blushed, “Well, after everyone left yesterday several of the bosmer stopped by and planted things around the house. They sort of just started growing and well by the time it finished it looked like that.”

Katel stared at the clay biscuit cottage now covered in flowering vines. Thick branches hung out over the hut bearing enormous leaves which shaded the home from the noon sun. Several lush berry bushes and vines, heavy with grape clusters, lined the path and grew on the thick poles of the wood fence. A new lantern hung above the door with the symbol of the bosmer on one side, the argonian, and nord on the other two sides, and the back had reflective metal to increase the output of the light.

“Looks like I’m outnumbered here,” Katel murmured and waited while Kahl-Lei unlocked the thick wood door and swung it open. The interior of the cottage was almost the same, except for the vine and leaf floor. “Does your papa know the floor isn’t a clay biscuit one anymore?”

Kahl-Lei shrugged, “It’s still the clay foundation, just with a few inches of thin oak branches and leaves to cushion it now.”

Woven reed and branch baskets lined one wall and sat on a wood shelving system of branches secured with rope and vines.

“You’ve been busy,” Katel said and helped to unpack the boxes they carried.

Kahl-Lei nodded, “The bosmer taught me how to make the baskets and things last winter. I stockpiled them so I would have storage containers ready for my things.”

“Been planning on leaving for so long?” Katel sounded heartbroken, and Kahl-Lei turned and hugged her mama tightly.

“I’m not going anywhere, Mama. I’m staying right here. I love the farm, I love the shop, and I love helping you create potions and unrivaled variety of cloth.”

Katel heaved a heavy sigh when she realized nothing would change her daughter’s mind about living alone in the cottage.

 

* * *

  


Kahl-Lei hitched the spring wagon to the horse then helped her parents load their goods into the back for their market day. She added a huge mound of woven baskets and thick mats she made from the river reeds to it then climbed into the back as Aju-Lei clicked at the horse.

Oakwood had grown so much they expanded the town’s borders to across the lake. As they set up their market stalls, one newcomer to the town ferried people across the lake on a flat-bottomed raft.

Several wagons arrived from Riverwood, Whiterun, and Falkreath along with the transport carriages throughout the day and many people on horseback filled the streets. Festive banners hung on the lamp posts while their newest resident, an old mage who took a liking to the Innkeeper’s widow when he passed through town, strung multiple colored magical lights around the trees and along the storefront support beams.

Hawkers of treats, pies, cakes, and candies pulled small wagons along the main road calling out their wares, while visitors stopped at the stalls. You could find everything from argonian crafts, to khajiit style armors, and giant round cushions to sit on, to bosmer baskets, and magical potions. There was even an orc who traveled clear from Whiterun to set up a stall just to sell books.

Aju-Lei was too busy hawking his painted gourd products to notice what Kahl-Lei was up to. Katel, however, noticed rather quickly the same male khajiit strutted past her daughter’s stall four times in the last half hour stopping briefly to preen in his finery in front of her.

Katel elbowed Aju-Lei in mid-sentence and nodded to the goings on at the stall across from theirs. Aju-Lei watched the scene and his tail swung to the side hard enough to knock over a crate of birdhouse gourds with a clatter. He gave a loud whistle when he saw Kahl-Lei lean toward the khajiit then smile as she flirted with him.

She jerked back and threw up her hands when Aju-Lei pointed at his eyes then at her before crossing his arms over his still broad chest.

Chana snorted when she saw what was happening. “She’s twenty years old you two, she’s not a child anymore.”

“She’s still our child and barely more than a teen by bosmer standards.”

Chana shook her head at her friends and wrapped a wheel of herb goat cheese in a sheet of brown parchment before handing it to the customer.

They watched as the same khajiit kept walking past the stalls, not stopping to buy anything from anyone, only to stand and run a hand over the tan fur on his head or straighten his tunic when he reached Kahl-Lei’s.

 

* * *

  


The same khajiit showed up at the next five market days and did the exact same thing. Aju-Lei had enough and went to confront the khajiit.

“What do you think you’re up to, khajiit?”

He turned toward Aju-Lei and brushed a hand over his tunic. “This one wishes to court the woman and is trying to show her I can provide for her. I am gainfully employed and would like to get to know her. If you don’t mind, you’re blocking her line of sight.”

“The woman is my daughter, and you better damn sight ask for her parent’s permission before you start this courting nonsense. She’s only twenty and doesn’t need someone who only knows how to strut about and wear fancy clothes.”

Kahl-Lei hissed, “Papa, you’re embarrassing me, stop it.”

“What my daughter needs is someone dependable, hardworking, and down to earth who won’t run off at the first sign of trouble. She needs someone who isn’t hooked on skooma, doesn’t waste Septims on unnecessary items, and will take care of her.”

Senta leaned close to Kahl-Lei in the stall next to her, “Your papa is worse than mine for chasing off men.”

Kahl-Lei covered her face and slowly sank down behind the stack of baskets sitting on the counter.

“She needs someone who knows farming, animal care, and shopkeeping. Someone who’s not afraid to get their hands… or paws, dirty with tending gardens, and one who won’t get angry because their skin, scales, or fur gets dyed a strange color from helping with the dye vats. Someone who doesn’t make promises they can’t or won’t keep.”

Aju-Lei crossed his arms over his chest and blocked the khajiit’s view of Kahl-Lei’s stall.

“This khajiit will do all of that and can protect her too. This one worked his way from Elsweyr to Skyrim, from mining out ore near Markarth and across Skyrim to find his way to Whiterun. He now works for the Battle-Borns as a laborer in their fields. This one has never used skooma and never will.

J’ari admits he doesn’t know how to take care of animals other than his horse, but he will learn, and dye eventually fades. This one will help with every aspect of her business but will leave the shopkeeping and finances to her. This one will not spend their hard-earned Septims unwisely.”

Aju-Lei stared into the khajiit’s blue eyes and waited, and waited, and waited. He didn’t see the man flinch or back down. He snorted and said, “If you want to get to know her stop strutting around like a barnyard rooster. Come to the house and introduce yourself then ask for our permission and hers. We’ll go from there.”

Kahl-Lei peeked around the corner of her stall when she heard the last part of the argument. She stood up as she blinked at her parents and the tan colored male standing in front of her stall with his mouth open staring at her papa as he went back to selling gourd bowls.

 

* * *

 

Aju-Lei and Katel sat on a bench outside of the small cottage they moved into after J’ari and Kahl-Lei married. The sun was high, and they heard children’s laughter as they watched Kahl-Lei picking pea pods from the trellises while her khajiit daughter, Sahaba chased a butterfly around the yard.

Katel and Aju-Lei were surprised several years ago by a loud, rapid knocking on their door late one evening and opened it to find the two of them standing on their porch holding a crying baby.

Kahl-Lei quickly told them the Innkeeper’s stable boy heard something in the stable and went to investigate. He found the baby laying in a stall. He didn’t notice any khajiits other than J’ari anywhere near the Inn let alone a female hanging around the stable.

They hurried to the main house and J’ari followed Aju-Lei up the steps to the loft where they moved several dusty crates until they found the worn black leather pack which contained their old camping equipment.

Aju-Lei tossed the chest on the floor of the living room and took out the crates of linens they used for Kahl-Lei as a baby along with the swinging basket, toys, and the goat’s horn nurser.

While Katel washed everything, Aju-Lei sent J’ari to the blacksmith for clean leather and made sure J’ari knew to explain what it was for then to hurry back as fast as he could.

“We will need fresh milkers, Kahl-Lei, the baby will drink more milk than our old goats can provide.”

Once J’ari returned, Aju-Lei and Katel went over everything they could remember on how they raised Kahl-Lei, and J’ari haltingly explained the changes which the baby’s appearance will undergo over the next few days.

The three of them looked at each other and down at the baby who resembled a large kitten then to J’ari before they told him it wouldn’t matter what she looked like, she was now part of their family.

Then just a year ago J’ari, Kahl-Lei, and Sahaba returned with a young boy following behind them. They explained while in Riften doing business with the local wool merchant at his stall in the town square, J’ari turned his back for a second to look at some fresh-baked pies and Sahaba disappeared.

They searched the area in a panic. After alerting a guard and asking around at the other stalls, the argonian who sold jewelry told them he saw a khajiit girl heading for the orphanage.

After finding their daughter safe, they gave her a stern lecture about the dangers of leaving their side and wandering off. They listened as through her tears and sniffles; she explained she only wanted to play with the boy who sat by himself in the yard’s corner.

J’ari wiped his daughter’s amber-colored eyes and smoothed down her cream and tan fur before hugging her. They found the boy she told them of and noticed none of the other children paid any attention to him.

Sahaba sat near him and pushed a wooden ball toward him and giggled when he used his foot to push it back toward her after a minute. By the end of the day, the orphanage administrator had the adoption papers signed, and they were shopping for clothing for the quiet breton boy.

It took many months for Thierry to realize they were keeping him and not just getting his hopes up only to return him to the orphanage. He slowly came out of his shell and spoke to them and telling them of how he came to be in the orphanage.

Now, as the sun shone down on the fields, they saw him grab something out of the stream flowing on their property and run toward J’ari, who stopped what he was doing to kneel and listen intently to his son as he showed his papa the frog he caught.

Katel sighed happily and leaned against her aging husband who nuzzled her graying hair.

“We’ve had a wonderful life, husband, and to think it all started because an idiot argonian threw my worn and tattered basket into the river and broke my fishing pole.”

Aju-Lei chuckled as he hugged his beloved wife closer to him and watched his family laugh and play under the noonday sun.

**Author's Note:**

> Reference to certain locations or items may come from mods. Below are ones I’ve used items or areas from while writing this story. The mods are used as a base guideline for the additional bits of the story.
> 
> Camping Kit of the Northern Ranger by tek_7 available on Nexus Mods  
> Oakwood by thirteenoranges, available on Steam.  
> External Whiterun market area from Expanded Towns and Cities – MissJennabee -Nexus  
> Provincial Courier Service – Arthmoor  
> Imperial Mail – Post & Banking Service - NorthHare


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